It was such a beautiful day here today. I went for a little walk and enjoyed the spring sunshine. In the park people were busy picking up trash and cleaning up. It was nice to see whole families working together. One of the first signs of spring are the little green shoots – that lifted my spirits considerably.

Of course many people hate dandelions, but they are an early food source for honey bees, and their bright yellow flower cheers me up.

There were also flocks of red-winged blackbirds, robins, sparrows, and grackles near the pond. It was heavenly to hear their songs. A pair of mallard ducks made an appearance as well. There were likely other water fowl, but I could only…

Title: You will be Safe here
Author: Damian Barr
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 346
ISBN: 978-1526608734
Source: Publsiher

You will be Safe here tells two stirring and connected stories spanning over a century.  Set in South Africa and told in three parts, the events in the novel take place in 1901 during the second Boer War and then in Johannesburg of the late 20th century, culminating finally in 2015.

South Africa, 1901, the height of the second Boer War. Sarah and her son are taken to Bloemfontein Concentration Camp where, the English promise, they will be safe.

Johannesburg, 2010, Sixteen-year-old outsider Willem is sent by his parents to New Dawn Safari Training Camp. Here they ‘make men out of boys’- guaranteed.

The premise of the novel is quite gripping and grapples the reader at once. The author has employed two different narrators in the novel. The part involving the war times…

The breeze has blown
all the pink to the ground
from the blossom up there in the tree
Like a carpet it lies
with a hint of surprise
which is very appealing to me