Since November 2021, I’ve been receiving the monthly Literati Book Subscription. Each month I choose a Luminary and then discuss their chosen book with other book club members. This online book club offers a book community where readers can engage in discussions led by the Luminary as well as other members. The book options are both fictional novels as well as non-fiction biographies, memoirs, or other books that offer learning opportunities in business, leadership, and self-improvement.
Once you become a member, you choose from one of the 17 Luminaries to join their club. You can stick with the same Luminary every month or bounce around based on their book choices. Since I tend to like a variety of different books, I have chosen to bounce around, choosing Luminaries based on the books they will be discussing. I have noticed over the last several months that not every Luminary is choosing to participate every month. For example, this month, there were only 12 Luminaries to choose from. So Luminaries are more interactive in their discussions while others kick off the discussion and let the readers take the lead. You just have to choose what type of experience you would like best.
Since November, I have read and discussed books with Cheryl Strayed, Susan Orlean, Atlas Obscura, Kelly McGonigal, Nicole Laeno, Richard Branson, and Elin Hilderbrand. I think my favorite book choices so far have been THE PUZZLER, THE READING LIST, and THE BUDDHA IN THE ATTIC. This month I stayed with Susan Orlean as my Luminary. I seem to really enjoy her choices. You can read about my other Literati Book Choices, HERE.
Check out this month’s Literati choice:
The Promise by Damun Galgut
On her deathbed, Rachel Swart makes a promise to Salome, the family’s Black maid. This promise will divide the family—especially her children: Anton, the golden boy; Astrid, whose beauty is her power; and the youngest, Amor, whose life is shaped by feelings of guilt.
Reunited by four funerals over thirty years, the dwindling Swart family remains haunted by the unmet promise, just as their country is haunted by its own failures. The Promise is an epic South African drama that unfurls against the unrelenting march of history, sure to leave its readers transformed.
A NOTE FROM SUSAN
For anyone who prefers their tragedies leavened by a dash of bittersweet comedy, look no further than this haunting story about a white family in post-Apartheid South Africa. Damon Galgut’s The Promise deftly ties the disintegration of the dysfunctional Swart family with three decades worth of historical upheaval—a remarkable allegory for the broken promises of an entire nation.
The story begins with the fruitless vow of a dying woman to grant a home to Salome, the Black woman who has long worked with the family. Over the course of four funerals and 30 years, you’ll witness the collapse of the family’s promise into near-meaninglessness.
This layered saga effortlessly flits through time, places, and family members in a matter of sentences, following a fluid stream of consciousness that sometimes dips into surprising perspectives. I was quickly caught in the riveting flow of Galgut’s story, mesmerized by his every word. There is so much to pull apart in this book—I can’t wait to hear what you think!
THE PROMISE also received the Booker Prize in 2021, the Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Fiction in 2022, and the Rathbones Folio Prize Nominee for Shortlist in 2022.
Susan Orlean is a best-selling author whose words leap from the page into your heart (and sometimes to the big screen). Her unique humor colors her prose and paints literary murals full of meticulous detail.
I chose this book because I love epic family stories, especially ones that span generations.
The Literati box includes a hardcover copy of the book, a bookmark, and a note from Susan Orlean about why she chose this book.
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By becoming a member of Literati, you can get access to the following features:
- Access to all Literati Book Clubs
- New book recommendations each month
- Active in-app discussions with thoughtful readers
- Exclusive invites to author Q & As
- Members-only pricing on any book
- One curated book delivered monthly
- Exclusive printed content with each book
- Interactive online group discussion with the Luminarie that chose the book
Join a Literati Luminary book club for $26 a month. Save 20% on a yearly subscription by becoming an annual member and enjoy a Literati membership for $22 a month. The membership will be active until 12 books are delivered. Literati Luminary membership includes access to all book clubs in our app.
Your book club’s Luminary will get the discussion started each month in the Literati app. Open your Literati app to dive into a book discussion. Discuss specific chapters or reply to a thread. We also have monthly Ask The Author events, which are held live on YouTube. There are also lots of ways to continue the discussion with other Literati members that are part of your same Luminary book club while using the Literati app.
Click HERE to check out Literati.
You can see my previous Literati posts by clicking, HERE.
This review is my personal opinion. Literati has gifted this subscription to me, but I receive no commission for sharing this book club.
Posted Under book club, Book Review, Damon Galgut, historical fiction, Literati, South Africa, Subscription Box, Susan Orlean