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London. 1967. Longmans Green & Company. 1st British Edition. Previous Owner's Inscription, Otherwise Very Good in Dustjacket. Published In Originally In South Africa & Later In America As 'The Ambassador'. Translated from the Afrikaans by The Author. 256 pages. hardcover. Cover designed by A.E. Barbosa. Signed by the Author. keywords: Africa South Africa Literature Afrikaans Translated World Literature. DESCRIPTION - Paris and the Diplomatic Corps provide the background for this impressive novel of which Paul van Heerden, South African Ambassador, is the central figure. The strictly traditional world of diplomacy imposes, like the Army, its own discipline and code of behaviour, and to such a rigidly defined life Paul van Heerden is, to all appearances, well suited: a man at the peak of his career, successful, respected, serenely middle-aged, a contented husband and father. The impact of any scandal on such a life is bound to be violent to the point of destruction, and when Paul van Heerden becomes involved with Nicolette, a girl from a world far different from his own and young enough to be his daughter, he is faced with the loss of all he stands for and has ever valued. Andre Brink's evocation of the Paris of diplomats and statesmen, of fashionable boulevards, embassies and parties, of the beauty of the city as well as of its darkness and misery, is like a tangible presence. The map of the city becomes a map of the human heart, the struggles of the mind finding expression in the tormented ecstasy and loneliness of physical love. At a deeper level, the novel becomes an exploration of the nature of human values. Nicolette, challenging Paul's world of narrow certainties with a wild and willful freedom of her own, forces upon him a reappraisal of the meaning of love and duty, of complacently accepted moral standards, of the relationship between personal and professional life, and of the differences between one generation and another. File on a Diplomat is Andre Brink's first novel to be published in this country. Written originally in Afrikaans, and translated by the author himself, its originality, sophistication and strength establish him immediately as a writer of importance. inventory #11853 Previous Owner's Inscription, Otherwise Very Good in Dustjacket.
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