Customer Reviews

A far-off place

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

A Far Off Place is the sequel to the bestseller by Laurens Van der Post, 'A Story Like The Wind'. Hunters Drift is a farm in Matabeleland (today part of Zimbabwe)

It is the home of Pierre Paul Joubert known affectionately by all who live there as 'Ouwa', where European, Matabele and Bushmen live in harmony with each other , and with the great flora and fauna of Africa.
This is before the forces of destruction and death, Marxist terrorists, massacre the whole population of Hunter's Drift , as they carve a path of blood through Southern Africa.
The only survivors are Ouwa's teenage son, Francois, Nonnie, the young daughter of a colonial governor and his Portuguese wife, both murdered by the terrorists and Francois' beloved hunting dog, Hintza. They are joined by a young Bushman, Xhabbo, and his wife, Nuin Tarra.

The four young people and brave dog , must pass through bush and desert , to safety , while pursued by the cold-blooded killers.

'A Far Off Place' is a heartwarming story of love hope and courage, and of survival against overwhelming odds. It is about the fine balance between all living creatures.
Not least it highlights the death and suffering caused so many times by those forces of evil that hide behind the slogans of revolution and 'Liberation'.

I read A Far Off Place while on a trip to Africa. Wow! I'm hooked on Vander Post! I read A Far off Place before I read A Story Like the Wind. A Far Off Place moves faster - the first book sort of sets the story up and gets the characters ready. Also try Flamingo Feather by Laurens Van Der Post.

After seeing the movie years ago I finally came across book. I loved the movie, but the book even more. It was articulate, passionate, and though provoking. Van der Post expresses the emotions and actions of the characters so vividly it is as if you are there witnessing them. I read this before "A Story of the Wind" and did not have a problem understanding (although the movie background did help). A must read for all ages.

This book begins where A Story Like the Wind ends. The home deep in Africa, where young Francois Joubert had grown to near manhood, was overrun by a well equipped army of black Africans led by a Maoist Chinese officer with Africans and two Europeans as subalterns. The Maoist officer ordered that everyone be killed at Hunter's Drift, where Francois had grown up, and at nearby Silverton Hill, where a retired British Naval officer, along with his half Portuguese daughter, known to Francois as Nonnie, were having a home built by South African coloureds. With impeccable logic, the Chinese officer wanted no survivors, because 1)Hunter's Drift was to becme a staging point for an assault on a mining city, requiring secrecy, and 2)a survivor could tell the tale of what had been done. Francois was a special target. But Francois and Nonnie were not at the scene when the attack wiped out the settlements. They had been called from the immediate area by a Bushaman whom Francois had earlier freed from a steel animal trap. The Bushman, Xhobba, had now returned with his wife, Nuin-Tara, and the four, and Francois' hunting dog, Hintza, son of great hunting dogs, had now to set off upon a flight across Africa to the sea, a trip which would take more than a year, during which they bonded deeply and were beset by enemies and eventually by disease. When the five reached the sea, there is a celebratory, triumphalist, ending to the book, two such events, in fact, that seem out of place in light of the slow, patient, painful crossing. (Survival would have been celebration enough.) But between these celebrations the words of Mopani, the great hunter turned conservationist, bring to us the spiritual philosophy of Laurens van der Post, most clearly summarized in a short prayer once uttered by Mopani, "Our Father, which art in Heaven, Thy will be done. Our Mother, which art in earth, thy love be fulfilled, and love will be made one"(307). An underlying theme of the book is that the inner and outer worlds are united: "There is a profound interdependence of world without and world within, and experience in either one of them is also valid in the other. Whenever one succeeds in breaking the code wherein their meaning is transmitted from one dimension to the other, this validity is so marked that one wonders whether there are really two different dimensions and not just two aspects of one and the same whole. The visible world being merely the spirit seen from without; the spirit, just the world without seen from within"(153). What the travelers have seen and endured affects them, and what they have done and will do affects the world around them, on and on through time.

Mikael Salomon's "A Far Off Place" is a marvelous example of how skilled direction and production can turn a good story into a great film. Performances in the major roles are all excellent, and Ethan Embry's portrayal of the disgruntled, fish-out-of-water city boy forced into the wilds of Africa walks a delicate line (between authentic teenage muddle-headedness and just plain obnoxiousness) beautifully.

Critics may claim the film is a little two-dimensional, and in fairness, they are right. But by not trying to make the film too grand through obvious artifice, the good performances and great scenery let this film become memorable in a simple, direct way that's very much in harmony with the essence of the story: we don't always get to choose our circumstances, and how we react in those times may literally become a matter of life and death.

Two other minor themes help make this a favorite: the Reese Witherspoon character is a great role model for any young girl - sensitive and feminine without being a wimpy or dependent ingrate; and a rare and even-handed portrayal of the firearm as a tool - no better or worse than the purpose to which it is put by a human master.

This has to be absolutely the BEST movie I've seen in a very long time. It became my favorite when I first saw it years ago.
It's taken me a long time to think to even look for it here.
The story is riveting, holds you in to the end, leaves you wanting more. The characters are very believable.
The emotion is so real, you'll find yourself tearing up at times!
The greatest movie to see with your family. Unlike so many others out there. Get it, watch it, gotta have it!

The novel A Far Off Place, by Laurens Van Der Post is a compelling story about courage, friendship, survival and the coming of age of two young kids. Van Der Post had many intents in writing this book. One of his intentions was to share his knowledge of the way of life in Africa, as he once knew it. He wanted to tell of all the discrimination and prejudice that the different tribes show each other. For years, the Matabele people and the Bushman have seen their numbers diminish because of all the persecution that has gone on between the tribes. Another purpose was to show how friendship could help in the worst of situations. The author writes about how, in the face of danger, courage can conquer all. Also, he attempts to teach the readers to respect nature and all that goes with it. The characters in the novel are forced to make a trek across the Kalahari Desert in order to reach safety. While on the journey they demonstrate maturity and resourcefulness. The main character, Francois Joubert, obviously led a very interesting life because the first book was popular enough to make Van Der Post write a sequel.
Laurens Van Der Post got his ideas for the book from his own childhood. He used some of his experiences as a child to write the book. Readers receive an insight into the author's past. Based upon the character's relationships in the book, I assume that he had some good friends in his youth, like Nonnie, Koba and Mopani. He wrote with such extraordinary description, one could clearly see that he enjoyed the topic he was writing about. Although the book does not include any pictures, graphs or tables, they are not needed because of Van Der Post's talent for vivid writing. His wondrous flow of words captivates the reader's heart and soul. The use of the many literary devices in it makes the story come alive.
As much as I took pleasure in reading it some of the vocabulary was difficult for me to understand. In some places of the book I became lost because so many events were occurring all at the once. After reading A Far Off Place I felt compelled to take better care of the environment. The novel taught me life is cruel and full of injustice. By no means was this book boring in any way. I was entertained from the beginning to the end. I would recommend this book to a more advanced reader. I can not wait to read more of his books. This is a classic must read book; two thumbs up. If people knew how good this book was, there wouldn't be a copy left in the library.

If you love travel and survival stories, this movie has it all, topped with being set in the Kalahari desert of Africa. The two teenagers with their bushman friend show cross-cultural friendship and cooperation at its best, combined with a respect for nature and a desire to preserve endanger animals (elephants) from poachers which sets the stage for the entire film. I loved this movie, I kept borrowing it from the library until they lost their copy, and was delighted to find it for sale here at Amazon.com. I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed this film.

I'd like to first tip my hat to Mr. Lawrence, who wrote an excellent synopsis and review (above) of this book. While I agree that Mopani's philosophy is an overiding theme in this novel, I'd have to say that what I took away from this book was the poetry of the writing itself, rather than any philosophy, tenet, or argument for or against something. Mr. Van Der Post writes of things like "starsong", and the beauty of the roar of a lion, and these things stand as the memorable parts of this book for me. He is a master of the kind of writing one doesn't see very often anymore: the adventure story which has long, poetic, and meaningful descriptions interspersed within the action. He reminds me a bit of Fenimore Cooper, in that the action, while giving definition to his plots, do not define the plot completely.

I highly recommend this book, especially for junior-high and highschool students.

This is a classic adventure, and it is a timeless tale of a group of young people as they make their way accross the desert. It is amazing what pictures the author can paint with his words. This is a must read for anyone who loves a comming of age adventure nove.