Respected author Marguerite Poland’s latest
book, A Sin of Omission, was launched
on October 10, 2019, at Exclusive Books Gateway. A large audience supported the
event to hear Professor Mbongeni Malaba conduct a fascinating interview with Poland
about the book and her experiences during its development.
Set in the Eastern Cape, A Sin of Omission is about Stephen
(Malusi) Mzamane, a young Anglican priest, who must journey to his mother’s
rural home to inform her of his elder brother’s death.
First educated at the Native College in
Grahamstown, Stephen was sent to England in 1869 for training at the Missionary
College in Canterbury. But on his return to South Africa, relegated to a
dilapidated mission near Fort Beaufort, he had to confront not only the
prejudices of a colonial society but the discrimination within the Church
itself.
Conflicted between his loyalties to the
amaNgqika people, for whom his brother fought, and the colonial cause he as
Reverend Mzamane is expected to uphold, Stephen’s journey to his mother’s home
proves decisive in resolving the contradictions that tear at his heart.
A Sin
of Omission is published in paperback by Penguin
RandomHouse. Recommended Retail Price R290. ISBN 9781485904199
The
review of “A Sin of Omission” will be published on artSMart shortly.
Posts
