The Promise

By: Damon Galgut

Narrated by: Peter Noble

Brought to you by Penguin.

Winner of the Booker Prize 2021.

This audiobook includes bonus content of Damon Galgut in conversation with Ted Hodgkinson, Head of Literature and Spoken Word at the Southbank Centre.

There is nothing unusual or remarkable about the Swart family, oh no, they resemble the family from the next farm and the one beyond that, just an ordinary bunch of white South Africans, and if you don't believe it then listen to us speak....

The many voices of The Promise tell a story in four snapshots, each one centered on a family funeral, each one happening in a different decade. In the background, a different president is in power, and a different spirit hangs over the country, while in the foreground the family fights over what they call their farm, on a worthless piece of land outside Pretoria.

Over large jumps in time, people get older, faces and laws and lives all change, while a brother and sister circle around a promise made long ago and never kept....

©2021 Damon Galgut (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

A superb novel; a nuanced, sad, hilarious portrait of a family and a country (PAULA HAWKINS)

This story was so powerful, the writing so strong and supple.... What an achievement (CLARE CHAMBERS)

A moving, brilliantly told family epic...darkly comic...phenomenally good (ELIZABETH DAY)

Tour de force

The storm at the end a powerful metaphor of the ambiguities and ironies of South Africa today

The weight of a promise

This is an outstanding novel. Beautifully written and narrated. Profound and thought-provoking. Highly recommended

Beautiful and emotional

Damon Galgut's powerfully visual writing comes to life with Peter Noble's excellent reading in this emotional story.

A great novel.

Describes an era in South African history and tell the story in a way the author strips the characters and show them in their ‘naked’ self.

The performance is excellent and makes the story

Brilliantly Narrated

Very enjoyable listen, great story which has been brilliantly narrated. Thoroughly recommend listening to or reading.