The Covenant (Mass Market Paperback)

by James A. Michener (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Is this 900-page South Africa saga much more spotty and ill-shaped than Chesapeake and Centennial - or does it just seem so because we can't automatically fill in the gaps of history ourselves this time? In any case, Michener is using his familiar approach here: tracing a region's history through a few families, with a not-always-congenial mix of soap opera, celebrity cameos, and textbook lessons. He begins with a glimpse of prehistoric Bushmen crossing the desert (going south) in search of water, but then he quickly introduces the first of his central dynasties: in the 1450s, black youth Nxumalo is inspired by white gold-traders, treks north to the rich city of Zimbabwe, and witnesses its tragic abandonment; 350 years (and 300 pages) later, his descendant plays Brutus to the Caesar of mad, mother-obsessed Zulu king Shaka (who unifies the tribes via constant bloody warfare); and in the 1970s, Prof. Daniel Nxumalo, non-violent black activist, will be tried for high treason. Overall, however, the varied non-whites - Hottentots, Xhosa, Zulu, Coloured - get relatively little space here, with the prime focus on the Europeans. The Dutch Van Doorns are the key clan, beginning when young Willem is among a group of castaways forced to settle on the Cape in the 1640s: he impregnantes a beloved Malay slave (the start of the "Coloured" population) but marries an imported Dutch bride and, after founding a top winemaking farm (with crucial help from a Huguenot refugee), proudly coins the term "Afrikaner"; his grandson becomes one of the "trekboers" who move east with herds, battling blacks for land; and when English rule comes in the early 1800s, this hinterlands branch of the fiercely Calvinistic Van Doorns will be at the center of Boer resistance-taking part in the Great Trek north to escape Anglo laws, suffering Zulu massacre, reaffirming their supposed land "covenant" with God in the 1838 Battle of Blood River, rebelling against English language and regulation with full-scale (or guerrilla) war, dying in Kitchener's concentration camps, supporting Germany in both world wars, but finally establishing Afrikaner control through slow acquisition of administrative positions. (In the 1950s Detleef Van Doom, seemingly singlehanded, institutes detailed apartheid.) And the English are represented by the Saltwoods: 1820s missionary Hilary incurs Boer wrath by opposing slavery and wedding rescued slave Emma ("his marvelous little assistant with the laughing eyes"); knighted brother Richard organizes relief for starving Xhosa; Richard's grandson Frank is one of Cecil Rhodes' "young men" (soon disillusioned) and performs ugly Boer War duties before standing up to Kitchener; and the 1970s Saltwoods will defend civil rights while a distant American relation digs for diamonds, befriends Prof. Nxumalo, and loves a Van Doorn. A wealth of fascinating material - and Michener does his best to balance Boer intransigence (with its religious base) against imperious English mistakes, to find shreds of decency among patterns of cruelty and obtuseness. But, despite a chapter devoted to apartheid horrors (So. Africa has banned the book), the non-white side of things never becomes humanly specific. And one somehow ends this huge volume with little feel for historical continuity or for the physical setting (a surprising lapse from Michener). . . and none at all for contemporary South Africa. (You'll get far more real sense of the people and place in fiction by Nadine Gordimer or James McClure.) Still, despite these flaws and the more usual ones - B-movie dialogue, preachy digressions, corny coincidences. cliches and stereotypes galore - Michener's flocks of fans will certainly get the bulk and variety and epic events they expect; and, when all is said and done, how many surefire bestsellers are as clean-hearted, well-meaning, and undeniably educational as a Michener mammoth? Easy to put down, then (in both senses of the word), but worthy and welcome. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Adventurers, scoundrels and missionaries. The best and worst of two continents carve an empire out of the vast wilderness that is to become South Africa. For hundreds of years, their rivalries and passions spill across the land. From the first Afrikaners to the powerful Zulu nation, and the missionaries who lived with both--all of them will influence and take part in the wars and politics that will change a nation forever.
THE COVENANT: generations of people who forge a new world in a story of adventure and heroism, love and loyalty, cruelty and betrayal.


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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 1248 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (March 12, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449214206
• ISBN-13: 978-0449214206
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,331 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An epic historical novel, October 29, 2003

By	mrliteral - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The covenant

Sometimes it's nice to read a small book, a quick 150-300 page diversion from the real world. At other times, however, it's nice to read a book with some real "meat" to it. Few big name writers were more adept at producing these meaty books than James Michener, and in the Covenant, he presents one of his biggest, a 1200+ page epic about South Africa.

As usual, Michener is not as interested in adventure or characters as he is with relating the history of a particular region. This is his formula: to cover a region from prehistoric times to the present, watching it slowly get settled and eventually civilized, though this civilization is often with a great price. This is not to say that he doesn't write a compelling story: he does, but he does not use heroes or villains to populate his world.

This is a good book, but a reader new to Michener should learn to try and not get too attached to specific characters, as Michener treats them rather unsentimentally, and they often die in undramatic fashion. Also, although there are some unpleasant people, Michener does not make them truly evil; he usually can show that these characters believe they have justifiable reasons for their actions. Writing as objectively as possible in a novel, he judges no one but rather allows the reader to make the judgements.

Many will be put off by the size of this book, but this is actually a reasonably fast read. In the end, the reader will feel both entertained and educated, and that is perhaps the best that can be asked of from a novel.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Michener - the consummate "citizen of the world", October 17, 1999

By	Stuart Kelly "stuartkelly007" (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

It isn't easy to sum up the South African story in a few pages. As a South African I've had to suffer an endless litany of populist garbage published on the back of my country's "flashpoint" status since the 1990s.

It's even harder for an outsider to fully fathom the bitter legacy which drove the two great tribes of southern Africa on a path towards war and reconciliation. But Michener, the consummate "citizen of the World", has again hit the nail on the head.

Michener has an unerring feel for the birth of nations. He proved it first in "Hawaii" but, for me, "The Covenenant" is his greatest accomplishment.

The story of the pioneering Afrikaners and their clash with the proud Zulu empire ranks as one of the all-time great "historical bookmarks" - and there's no one better to tell the tale.

I'm glad you came along, Mr Michener.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ...Where one could commit crimes for the love of the land, October 17, 2001

By	Moi (Kirkland, Quebec Canada) - See all my reviews

This is a masterpiece. A masterpiece of history bur also a masterpiece of human nature. Often, in a 1200 pages book, the author loses himself (and us) with useless details. Not in this one. Each page conveys the essence of that book: The Love of The Land.

One would think that Michener came from South Africa since he depicts that love with such purity and such passion. He also sucessfully avoided falling into the trap of taking side which, when you write on such a contreversial country, is very tempting.

You will discover South Africa and learn to love it, even if you never have set foot in Africa or never particularly cared about that region. This is how powerful this book is.

Learn to love that land through the eyes of the Nxumalos, a family of Zulus who emigrated south thousands of years ago to find food and adored the land in all of nature's expressions.

See it also through the destiny of the Van Doorns, a dutch family who, exploited through many generations by a country ran by the sense of business, returned to the fondamental values of god and the soil and made this land theirs, convinces that god granted them this new Eden.

Finally, follow the Saltwoods, A family of English noblemans who after wondering what Britain presence should be in South Africa became part of that intricate cultural web.

No race or culture is evil, history dictates what we are and will be. Passing on that book is passing on a great opportunity to understand the complex history of a country rich in emotions but also in understanding the events that led to the Appartheid and racial tensions in South Africa.

Mr. Michener, while you are there, write us an history of the paradise !!!