Prudence Wright seems to have it all: a loving husband, Davis; a spacious home in Washington, D.C.; and the former glories of a successful career at McKinsey, which now enables her to dedicate her days to her autistic son, Roland. When she and Davis head out for dinner with one of Davis's new colleagues on a stormy summer evening filled with startling and unwelcome interruptions, Prudence has little reason to think that certain details of her history might arise sometime between cocktails and the appetizer course.
Yet when Davis's colleague turns out to be Matshediso, a man from Prudence's past, she is transported back to the formative months she spent as a law student in South Africa in 1996. As an intern at a Johannesburg law firm, Prudence attended sessions of the Truth and Reconciliation hearings that uncovered the many horrors and human rights abuses of the Apartheid state, and which fundamentally shaped her sense of righteousness and justice. Prudence experienced personal horrors in South Africa as well, long hidden and now at risk of coming to light. When Matshediso finally reveals the real reason behind his sudden reappearance, he will force Prudence to examine her most deeply held beliefs and to excavate inner reserves of resilience and strength.
Piercing and provocative ... Illuminating ... Frank and unnerving ... She pushes her characters to the edge, where they must confront the moral costs of their darkest desires.
Deft ... Clever ... The narrative is let down by characterization that either lacks complexity or congruency. For example, Matshediso feels two-dimensional: His moments of humanity are brief and short-lived.
A brutal history lesson in the guise of a thriller. The novel is taut and deftly plotted ... A tale of dual reckonings, of a woman and a country both forced to face their histories and the harrowing violence that has shaped them.
