By Maren Bodenstein
Just before she dies, the writer’s mother leaves her with a difficult secret. She also leaves her with an urge to retrieve the past.
After years of trawling through family archives, the writer realises how difficult, if not impossible, that task is. However, during this process, she uncovers something unexpected.
What she does discover is a passionate and moving love story. This discovery becomes the emotional and narrative core of the book.
The Sinners’ Bench uses a variety of modes and tones to tell its story. These include extracts from letters, homespun publications, family myths and stories, childhood memories and photographs.
Telling a personal story through The Sinners’ Bench
The writer conveys her personal story as a memoir. She embeds this memoir in a broader family history. This family history, in turn, is explored as part of the cultural and historical legacy of German Lutheran missionaries in South Africa.
The story carries a deep sense of impermanence. Everything arises and passes. Wars begin and peace follows. People migrate and eventually find new homes. One generation steps into the spotlight, only to make space for the next.
The Sinners’ Bench weaves an artful tapestry of the arrival of German missionary families in South Africa. It also tells the stories of their succeeding generations. The book radiates with history, humour and poignancy. It captures all of this with delightful obliquity. I have not read a family memoir with greater enjoyment.
– Professor Michael Titlestad, Department of English at Wits University
About the author
Maren Bodenstein has published short stories, poems, and children’s books both locally and in international anthologies. In 2012, her novel Shooting Snakes was published by Modjaji Books.
She has taught screenwriting and creative writing at the Open Window University in Lusaka. She currently works as an editor, writing coach and gardener.
- PUBLISHER | Staging Post |
- ISBN | 978-1-0672661-7-2 |
- Recommended Retail Price | R350.00 |
- Classification | History |
For more information | Janine Daniel | J Doubled Publicity | +27 (0)83 327 3393 | mail me |