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tarajoy90's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, and Colonisation
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Conservationist is the story of Mehring, an unlikeable, racist, rich, white South African businessman, lacking in awareness, who has just bought a farm for tax purposes. It’s a not so-subtle metaphor highlighting much that was wrong in apartheid-era South Africa when it was written. Fairly early on the body of a Black man is discovered on the farm. No one knows who it is. The police aren’t interested in investigating what is obviously a murder so just dig a hole and drop the body in it. At the end of the novel there is a huge flood and the body is uncovered. This time the local Black farm workers give it a proper burial. Like I said not subtle. The stream of consciousness style, the jumps in time and topic, the don’t make for an easy read. One of the things I most admired was the sense of unease, the vague but increasing feeling that something wasn’t right on the land, that permeated the book. An important book, especially when it was written, but one I appreciated rather than enjoyed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Colonisation
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