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There's a tendency in the local literary community to over-value South African literature because it is South African. Bad reviews are rare and even the rare ones are light on the bad. Agaat is an English translation of an Afrikaans book, set on a farm in the province of the Western Cape. The book was translated with the author's input and won a local translation award.

Agaat is a very long book. Also heavy, but I read it on Kindle. This in two sentences could be a summary of my review. Of course, much of the story is missing. The book flicks through three perspectives, set in different time periods. For much of the book, the scenarios repeat themselves, without revealing anything that could not have been revealed more succinctly.

Language influences the way we think and vice versa. Afrikaans literature often has a specific tone and approach. There is of course the love of the land, literally the land, which comes from fighting for survival with and against the earth around you. As this suggests, there is some sentimentalism - interest in the most minute details of interpersonal relationships.

Minute. And tedious. The relationships are unfailingly distressing, until reading becomes a mental exercise in combatting depression. Transformative moments are alluded to and then turn out (only towards the end of the book, as though the author were saving them) to be ordinary, as in consistent with the rest of the book. But the characters, despite these moments, remain the same. Over 30-odd years.

I understand why the book won awards, apart from the industry's permanent waxing. It is well-written, by an author who is clearly experienced. Perhaps it reads better in Afrikaans. However, it reads like a short story strung out over 1000 or so pages. It's worth reading if you're not familiar with the setting or culture, but take your happy pills first.