#BlogTour: You Will Be Safe Here by Damian Barr @Damian_Barr @BloomsburyBooks @annecater #YouWillBeSafe #RandomThingsTours

Book Synopsis:

A beautiful and heart-breaking story set in South Africa where two mothers – a century apart – must fight for their sons, unaware their fates are inextricably linked.

Orange Free State, 1901. At the height of the Boer War, Sarah van der Watt and her six-year-old son Fred can only watch as the British burn their farm. The polite invaders cart them off to Bloemfontein Concentration Camp promising you will be safe here.

Johannesburg, 2010. Sixteen-year-old Willem is an outsider who just wants to be left alone with his Harry Potter books and Britney, his beloved pug. Worried he’s turning out soft, his Ma and her new boyfriend send him to New Dawn Safari Camp, where they ‘make men out of boys.’ Guaranteed.

The red earth of the veldt keeps countless secrets whether beaten by the blistering sun or stretching out beneath starlit stillness. But no secret can stay buried forever.

You Will Be Safe is available in all formats now. You can purchase your copy using the link below.

My Review:

This was a beautifully written, haunting book which will stay with me for a long time.

I didn’t know much about South African history so I found it fascinating to learn more about it now. The realisation that the British created the idea of a concentration camp was a sobering one, especially as you realise the events written about in this book could have actually happened to people. It made me feel quite sick whilst I read about the appalling conditions there and feel the desperation of Sarah as she tries to protect her son.

In the more recent timeline we follow Willem who is struggling with a mother who is trying to change who he is as she thinks he’s too soft. I felt desperately sorry for Willem who seemed such a lovely boy and just wanted to reach into the book and give him a huge cuddle, while also giving his mother a hard talking to. His friendship with Geldenhuys was lovely to read about and helped add some light relief to the story.

The author does a great job of setting the scene in this book with the vivid descriptions making me feel that I was right there experiencing everything alongside the characters. I even felt at times that I could smell things the way they would, particularly in the concentration camp which I think is proof of how well this book is written. The author manages to include the African dialogue and some of their culture into the story which further helps the reader envision the country the story is set in.

Overall I thought this was a fantastically written, compelling story that explores Africa’s rich and dramatic history. It is quite a sad story but it’s also an important one as a lot of the issues and prejudices discussed are sadly still happening in the world. It’s definitely a story that will deeply effect the reader and stay with you for a long time.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Bloomsbury for my copy of this book via Netgalley.

About The Author:

Damian Barr is an award-winning writer and columnist. Maggie & Me, his memoir about comingof age and coming out in Thatcher’s Britain, was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week and Sunday Times Memoir of the Year, and wonthe Paddy Power Political Books ‘Satire’ Award and Stonewall Writer of the YearAward. Damian writes columns for the BigIssue and High Life and oftenappears on BBC Radio 4. He is creator and host of his own Literary Salon that premieres work from established and emerging writers. You Will Be Safe Here is his debut novel. Damian Barr lives in Brighton.

@Damian_Barr