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Barbara Boswell
writer | scholar | educator
Grace
A Novel
Chrysalis Media, 2021 (First published by Modjaji Books)
IG: @grace_a_novel
Winner of the University of Johannesburg 2018 Debut Creative Writing Prize
Family secrets run deep for Grace, a young girl growing up in Cape Town during the 1980s, spilling over into adulthood, and threatening to ruin the respectable life she has built for herself. When an old childhood friend reappears, Grace’s memories of her childhood come rushing back, and she is confronted, once again, with the loss that has shaped her. She has to face up to the truth or continue to live a lie - but the choice is not straightforward. Grace is an intimate portrayal of violence, both personal and political, and its legacy on one person’s life. It meditates on the long shadow cast by personal trauma, showing the intergenerational imprint of violence and loss on people’s lives.
Published in the USA with Catalyst Press as Unmaking Grace (2019).
Awards
Winner of the University of Johannesburg Debut Creative Writing Prize, 2018: 'Lesego Rampolokeng and Barbara Boswell win the UJ Prizes for South African Writing.' (10 January 2019)
Reviews
Southern Suburbs Tatler: 'Book looks at effects of violence.' (19 March 2020)
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Kirkus Reviews. Book Review. (30 September 2019)
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English Academy Review. Book Review by Prof Merle A. Williams. (6 July 2018)
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Dr Lulu Gwagwa. Book Review by Dr Lulu Gwagwa. (26 March 2018)
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Aerodrome. Book Review by Manosa Nthunya. (10 October 2017)​
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Mail & Guardian: 'Of pain(t)ful pasts and parents.' (22 September 2017)
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Business Day. 'Secrets from past have ways of coming to the surface.' (23 August 2017)
Cape Talk. 'Debut novel explores domestic violence and its larger effects.' (21 August 2017)
Interviews
Catalyst Press: 'Q&A with Barbara Boswell.' (16 December 2019)
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LitNet: 'Unmaking Grace: an interview with Barbara Boswell.' (28 November 2019)
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Cheeky Natives. 'Dr Barbara Boswell: Grace: a novel.' (24 December 2018)