WEEPING Waters, the translated version of an Afrikaans crime novel by former journalist Karin Brynard, is an oddity. For starters, its title is not a direct translation of its predecessor’s, Plaasmoord (farm murder). The title of this prize-winning debut of a few years ago, plumbed the aggression and abject anguish due to what a segment of our society believes is a determined campaign of brutal criminality against farmers.With its English translation that field of reference is much expanded, beyond boundaries of linguistics, land, and fear-fuelled rhetoric. And for the sake of a larger audience, and potentially one that includes readers from abroad, Farm Murder just wouldn’t have cut it. Suffice to say that the original title is far more specific and drenched in dirty ideology. The English title is looser, more vague, sinister actually, hooking one into the story from a different angle, and "hook", certainly is what Weeping Waters does to the reader.From the get go the novel is inha...
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