Giving Voice: Narrating silence, history and memory in André Brink’s The Other Side of Silence and Before I Forget
This essay examines André P. Brink's two most recent novels, The Other Side of Silence (2002) and Before I Forget (2004), in terms of their voicing of silence and the rewriting of history and memory. Each has a theme familiar to Brink's readers - an historical story of colonial violence an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | Afrikaans |
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Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association
2018-07-01
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| Series: | Tydskrif vir Letterkunde |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.assaf.org.za/index.php/tvl/article/view/5361 |
| _version_ | 1818526513007427584 |
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| author | Sue Kossew |
| author_facet | Sue Kossew |
| author_sort | Sue Kossew |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This essay examines André P. Brink's two most recent novels, The Other Side of Silence (2002) and Before I Forget (2004), in terms of their voicing of silence and the rewriting of history and memory. Each has a theme familiar to Brink's readers - an historical story of colonial violence and violation avenged; and the recounting by an older writer of his "last love", respectively - and each is mediated by a male narrator. Both narrators, though, draw attention to the problems associated with this reconstructive and potentially appropriative storytelling. These texts thereby enact, in a more complex way than many of Brink's previous novels, the intersections of narrative, history and memory. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T06:24:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-75d0a67a3638400ba86d45112a57b25b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0041-476X 2309-9070 |
| language | Afrikaans |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T06:24:02Z |
| publishDate | 2018-07-01 |
| publisher | Tydskrif vir Letterkunde Association |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Tydskrif vir Letterkunde |
| spelling | doaj.art-75d0a67a3638400ba86d45112a57b25b2022-12-22T01:17:44ZafrTydskrif vir Letterkunde AssociationTydskrif vir Letterkunde0041-476X2309-90702018-07-01421Giving Voice: Narrating silence, history and memory in André Brink’s The Other Side of Silence and Before I ForgetSue Kossew0University of Pretoria, PretoriaThis essay examines André P. Brink's two most recent novels, The Other Side of Silence (2002) and Before I Forget (2004), in terms of their voicing of silence and the rewriting of history and memory. Each has a theme familiar to Brink's readers - an historical story of colonial violence and violation avenged; and the recounting by an older writer of his "last love", respectively - and each is mediated by a male narrator. Both narrators, though, draw attention to the problems associated with this reconstructive and potentially appropriative storytelling. These texts thereby enact, in a more complex way than many of Brink's previous novels, the intersections of narrative, history and memory.https://journals.assaf.org.za/index.php/tvl/article/view/5361André P. BrinkThe Other Side of SilenceBefore I Forgetsilencehistory memory |
| spellingShingle | Sue Kossew Giving Voice: Narrating silence, history and memory in André Brink’s The Other Side of Silence and Before I Forget Tydskrif vir Letterkunde André P. Brink The Other Side of Silence Before I Forget silence history memory |
| title | Giving Voice: Narrating silence, history and memory in André Brink’s The Other Side of Silence and Before I Forget |
| title_full | Giving Voice: Narrating silence, history and memory in André Brink’s The Other Side of Silence and Before I Forget |
| title_fullStr | Giving Voice: Narrating silence, history and memory in André Brink’s The Other Side of Silence and Before I Forget |
| title_full_unstemmed | Giving Voice: Narrating silence, history and memory in André Brink’s The Other Side of Silence and Before I Forget |
| title_short | Giving Voice: Narrating silence, history and memory in André Brink’s The Other Side of Silence and Before I Forget |
| title_sort | giving voice narrating silence history and memory in andre brink s the other side of silence and before i forget |
| topic | André P. Brink The Other Side of Silence Before I Forget silence history memory |
| url | https://journals.assaf.org.za/index.php/tvl/article/view/5361 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT suekossew givingvoicenarratingsilencehistoryandmemoryinandrebrinkstheothersideofsilenceandbeforeiforget |