André P. Brink – The passing of a South African literary giant

There has been much written about the passing of André Brink in the media and we at Bookmark feel for those in the industry who were touched by this great man. We mark his passing with some heartfelt comments from industry players on how André made a difference in South Africa.

I met Andre Brink many times while organizing book events for Wordsworth and the South African Booksellers Association. He inspired with his kindness and old school courtesy. He was always available and for someone so highly regarded and famous, very down to earth. His talks were always fascinating and entertaining, and he was approachable and charming to his audience. He will be greatly missed. Andrew Majoribanks, Wordsworth

André was of course a very special writer who made a massive contribution to South Africa through his writing. More than that, he was a very special human being, who was incredibly generous with his time and support for younger writers and in our case, a young bookshop. He was a lovely lovely man who touched the lives of so many. His slightly naughty, impish smile will forever stay in my memory – that is how I choose to remember him. Mervyn Sloman, Book Lounge

I appreciate the generous manner in which André Brink gave of his time to support up-and-coming South African writers. He nurtured their talent and lent his name to their work in a way that has helped to enrich our literary landscape.’ Andrea Nattrass, Publisher Pan Macmillan South Africa

I read Andre Brink as a young man, freshly arrived on campus following what seemed an eternity of narrow schooling and military service. I still recall how I devoured his books, savouring the freedom and danger and yes, the erotic charge in his writing. I was alive to the moment, my instant in the wind. Thank you, Andre Brink. Jeremy Boraine, Jonathan Ball

The death of Andre Brink is a great loss to South Africa .  I had the privilege of meeting him many times over the years I have been in bookselling  –    in Grahamstown, at literary lunches, book launches and was honored to attend his 70^th birthday celebration at the Baxter Theatre.  He was consistently kind and generous, a gentle man and a gentleman.    Literary giant, teacher and known for his courageous stand on apartheid and social issues, we will always remember him and treasure his works. Maureen Hargraves, Hargraves Library Services

His reference to books being a refuge stands out to many of us. I was honored yesterday to attend an engagement at which the Deputy President is now championing the importance of reading. He paid tribute to Andre Brink and quoted “”My library was – all libraries are – a place of ultimate refuge, a wild and sacred space where meanings are manageable precisely because they aren’t binding; and where illusion is comfortingly real. To read, to think, to trace words back to their origins real or presumed; to invent; to dare to imagine.” Marga Stoffer, NB Publishers

I think those words give the very reason for the absolute importance of our industry. And I am pleased that the importance of reading is now taking centre stage. Elitha van Der Sandt, SABDC

In the pantheon of great writers, I think André Brink is well up there.  I mean that not only in terms of his contribution to South African literature, but also because, as with all great literature, his work served to open windows that his political masters would have preferred stay shut.  I recall, as a student, reading his early novels and disregarding the political message because he was preaching to the converted.  However, what I did not take into account was that there were so many other students in so many other places in South Africa for whom his works acted like a magic door.  When you opened it, you saw your world in a different way.  Brink’s work was particularly offensive to the Nationalist Party because Brink was an Afrikaner son and his writing was a far greater sacrilege than the writing of an English man or woman.  I have today old first copies of some of his work, one in particular I still return to frequently: A Dry White Season.  Nothing might torment the liberal and the not so liberal mind as Brink’s depiction of the South Africa that he knew so well.  For years I have been meaning to read Philida for the first time.  I have yet to do so.  Now that Brink is dead, I will read it and I will be reminded of it every time I drive along the beautiful road that takes one to the Franschhoek Valley. Brink is no less a literary figure in South African literature than Nadine Gordimer and we should treat his passing with as much reverence as we did hers. Benjamin Trisk, Exclusive Books