Banquet at Brabazan (Paperback)

In Banquet at Brabazan, Patricia Schonstein takes us to the heart of Cape Town's violent inner city. She weaves together a rich and consuming story of a secret love affair between a boss and his secretary who create a fantastical, theatrical life for themselves within the confines of her apartment. Their theatrical existence is intricately entangled with superb food, romance, a cappella, an angel, Shakespearean drama, reflections on South Africa's war in Angola, drug-money, a muti murder, visions of the Afterlife and various works of fine art with flashbacks to the wondrous A Time of Angels. In contrast to their contrived space, outside the apartment exists the real world of loneliness, xenophobia and crime that have come to mark post-apartheid South Africa. Patricia Schonstein deftly leads us through both worlds, allowing the lives of a small group of people, who have not met before, to intersect over a period of ten days at Brabazan Bar & Lodge, in Long Street, Cape Town. Here she reveals a poignant and beautiful patina of hope and love.