Mouthful of Glass [Paperback]

Henk Van Woerden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 2001

A short, tough story of an assassin - the man who killed Hendrick Verwoed, the racist prime minister of South Africa, in 1966. Born in Mozambique of a Greek father and African mother, Demitrios Tsafendas was a man lost between the races, maddened by not knowing who or what he was. He thought he was white until his father abandoned him. He then discovered he was "coloured". He spent 25 years wandering the world looking for a home, growing stranger and more desperate. In 1965 he arrived in South Africa and got a job as a messenger in the Parliament building - a job reserved for whites.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A tough, unforgettable portrait of Demetrios Tsafendas, the assassin who killed Prime Minister Verwoerd of South Africa in 1966, a killer lost between the races, maddened by not knowing who or what he was. A brilliant account of the madness of apartheid.

About the Author

Henk van Woerden lives in Amsterdam. He is a highly regarded novelist in the Netherlands. He spent his childhood in South Africa. Dan Jacobson, who grew up in Kimberly, South Africa, is the author of many distinguished works of fiction, including The Rape of Tamar and The God-Fearer. His most recent book, Heshel's Kingdom, was published in 1998.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Granta Books (August 31, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1862074429
• ISBN-13: 978-1862074422
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,837,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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