A Handful of Earth

t is the year 1939, a year that will change world history for ever. It is also a watershed year for the Afrikaners, who have survived the Anglo-Boer War and are mobilising to become a powerful economic and political force in South Africa. In the Outeniqua Mountains near George, carpenter Abraham de Bruin dreams of owning land and starting a family with Stella, a young teacher. When the prime minister calls for coloured soldiers to fight in World War ii with the promise of 10 morgen of land afterwards, Abraham embarks on a journey that will take him to Central Africa and Egypt. On his return to the fertile soil of George, however, the promise of land is not fulfilled, and Abra-ham must fight nature, political forces and his own emotions while battling against a world that he does not always understand, but is determined to conquer.A Handful of Earth is also the story of Abraham's friendship with Kobus Venter, and Joseph Booysen, formerly Boyisana, a Xhosa man from the Cis-kei who tries to raise his family as 'coloured' to give them a better start to life.A Handful of Earth is the poignant and deeply compelling story of a man, a people, and a country.