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Andre P. Brink. Donkermaan Cape Town. Human & Rousseau. 2000 348 pages. R89.95. ISBN 0-7981-4041-0
THE HOUSE WAS a bargain, but a ghost was part of the deal. Decades earlier, Ruben and his wife Riana bought the large house where their two sons grew up, where she died some ten years ago, and where he is now growing old among his books and music. All these years Margrieta has been the housekeeper. She often meets Antje van Bengalen, the young slave who indulged in a perverse sex life with her master three centuries ago. Antje was executed and now amicably haunts the place, usually with her severed head in her hand.
Ruben has been made redundant to favor a young black, his friend has been murdered, and a minor heart problem has become cause for concern. His children - one living in Australia, the other planning to leave for Canada - consider his remaining in the house quite risky and persuade him to take in lodgers, preferably an aging couple.
So far the exposition....