The Other Side of Silence - Hardcover

Brink, Andre Philippus

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0151007705 ISBN 13: 9780151007707

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003

Synopsis

With years of abuse behind her and a bleak future ahead, a young German woman dreams of her country's colony in South-West Africa. When she learns of the women being transported to the colony to attend to the needs of male settlers, Hanna X takes the leap.
In Africa she is confronted with the harsh realities of colonial life. For resisting the advances of a German officer, she is banished to Frauenstein, a phantasmagoric outpost that is at once a "prison, nunnery, brothel, and shithouse." When the drunken excesses of visiting soldiers threaten the young girl who has become her only companion, Hanna revolts.
Mounting a ragtag army of women and native victims of brutality, she sets out on an epic journey to take on the German Reich. Combining the history of colonialism with the myths of Africa, this is an exquisitely written tale of suffering, violence, revenge, and, simply, love.

About this title

Book Description:

Published in hardcover by Harcourt, 2003. 0-15-100770-5

From the Inside Flap:

A compelling novel from the winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize/ Best Book from Africa award.

As a small child in a wintry Bremen, Hanna dreams about the other side of silence, the place where the wind comes from and palm trees wave in the sun. Seeing her chance to escape from years of abuse in an orphanage and in service, Hanna joins one of the shiploads of young women transported in the early years of the twentieth century to the colony of German South-West Africa to assuage the needs of the male settlers. Following atrocious punishment for daring to resist the advances of an army officer, she arrives at a phantasmagoric refuge in the African desert -- ?prison, nunnery, brothel, shithouse, Frauenstein.? When the drunken excesses of a visiting army detachment threaten her only companion, Hanna revolts.

Mounting a ragtag army of females and natives, she sets out on an epic march through the desert to take on the might of the German Reich. This apocalyptic journey through the darker regions of the soul will also reveal to Hanna the hidden meanings of suffering, revenge, companionship, love and compassion.

About this edition

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0151007705
• ISBN 13: 9780151007707
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320