'You Will Be Safe Here' is out in the Netherlands today!
‘You Will Be Safe Here’ is out in the Netherlands today! It is published there as ‘Hier ben je veilig’. Thank you to my publishers Uitgeverij Mozaïek for bringing this story to a wider audience, especially given the deep connections between the Dutch and South Africa. And thank you to Roeleke Meijer-Muilwijk for translating with such elan.
Early readers really can help a book find it audience. I am grateful to Stef Bos, Madeleijn van den Nieuwenhuizen and Zihni Özdil for their insight and their very generous words.
"Anyone who really knows South Africa knows that the beauty and tartness of this country is not easy to describe. Barr manages to grab something from a core that I have felt for years, but which I cannot find words for. Hier ben je veilig is a literary roller coaster with varying views that I enjoyed. "- Stef Bos, musician and writer.
"Barr has razed the historical myths about the ‘neatness’ of the Boer War and of the post-apartheid democracy. His debut novel is nothing less than a compelling masterpiece. "- Zihni Özdil, historian, columnist NRC Handelsblad & Vrij Nederland.
"How is it that we no longer regard someone as our neighbour, but as The Other? What are the roots of racism, of segregation? The group you belong to (and not the individual you are) often determines your fate. Barr describes how that works out in South Africa so oppressively that when I read it, I shivered. A poignant book, in which love and humanity offer hope. "- Madeleijn van den Nieuwenhuizen, legal historian and creator of @Zeikschrift on Instagram”