[.ca] Smell Of Apples (ISBN 0349107564)

From Amazon.com:
It's not that Marnus Erasmus is forced to parrot his major-general father's prejudices--the 11-year-old has no idea he's even doing so. The voice Mark Behr has created is a mix of youthful innocence and hope and terrible hatred and ignorance. Unconsciously relaying tales of Communist indoctrination and Coloured abomination, the boy is all set to become another soldier of the white South African state. "Dad says he'll never forget what the Communists and the blacks did to Tanganyika. And Dad says we shouldn't ever forget. A Volk that forgets its history is like a man without a memory. That man is useless." Marnus's domestic memories, however, turn out to be far more difficult to deal with than any issues of national import. His final essay of the school year ends with the triumphant "Open eyes are the gateways to an open mind," even as his family is attempting to keep his firmly shut.

feedback:
Reading the very good critics Mark Behr had earned for his first novel "The Smell of Apples", I started reading the book with very high expectations. And I can say that they were fulfilled. The book contains two time levels: The first one deals with an 11-year old boy, Marnus Erasmus, growing up in South Africa in 1973. Behr gives a detailed look into the racist society and tells the story of a shocking rape at the same time. The second one takes place in Angola. Marnus fights 16 years later as a lieutnant of the Soth African army in the Angola- civilwar. He and his soldiers are cut off from the troops. Again Behr succeeds in describing the cruelty of war. He knows how to connect the two time levels without loosing the reader's attention. Finally I can say that it was worth reading.

The Smell of Apples:
In his novel "The Smell of Apples" Mark Behr deals with problems of Apartheid by telling the story of a white South-African boy called Marnus Erasmus. Throughout the book the strong relation to his father becomes obvious. Although Mr. Erasmus is really strict and authoritarian, Marnus regards him as a hero, especially because he is a general in the South African Army. Nevertheless the reader believes that Marnus's father is very considerate concerning his family, but this illusion gets destroyed when Marnus observes that his best friend Frikkie is raped. The end of the novel is really shocking, but exactly that makes the book so interesting and readable. Telling the story through the eyes of a 10-year old boy makes the story even more dramatic. I like the story and the characters, although the parts of the novel concerning Marnus's time in war are sometimes hard to understand

Smell Of Apples:
Mark Behr's novel "The Smell Of Apples" is in many ways an amazing and remarkable story about a young boy named Marnus Erasmus living with his typical Afrikaner upper-class family near the ocean on the coast of South Africa. What is most striking about this story ist that most of the horrible incidents and tragedies within the Erasmus family are somehow hidden beneath the surface of harmonious normal life. Again and again Behr implies the racism an militarism Marnus Erasmus has to face every day. He is raised by parents who love their children as long as they do what is expected from them. Marnus's life is limited to the views and so-called virtues he is taught especially by his father, a high-ranked South African army officer. The relationship between father an son changes throughout the whole book that tells us a so-called "story of initiation". Marnus experiences things like the struggle between his mother and his sister, the homosexuality of his father and maybe even his mother's affair with a Chilean general. The facade of his former life starts to crumble. Behr describes it with a wonderful sense fo details and little symbols that imply certain facts and plots. But what is best about his book is its ending. Marnus still does not manage to turn away from his father. His fear and respect are deeper rooted than his common sense and need to be outraged. He obeys his father even after he saw him raping his best friend Frikkie. The real tragedy is that just until his death in the Angolan civil war Marnus is not able to forget all the prejudices he was told about the black majority of the Apartheid state South Africa. The short interludes of Marnus fighting in this war as an officer are placed between the different parts that tell us his childhood. Behr connects these two levels of time so masterly that the reader almost feels how strong the influence of his father was and how much his parents are responsible for what happens to their son. Although Marnus appreciates some of the black soldiers in Angola his last words are "For in life there is no escape from history". Marnus Erasmus and thousands of others of his generation were wasted, indoctrinated from the day of their birth and raised by hyppocrite parents causing psychic wounds Truth & Reconciliation will probably never heal properly.

More than just a story about South African history:
After Mark Behr has earned good international critics from papers like the "Financial Time", "The Independent", and "The Times", I decided to get an personal impression of his first novel "The Smell of Apples" and to read this highly praised book. As the book only got best critics, I started to read with high expectations - and they were fulfilled. The author suceeds in presenting different aspects in only one book. As a reader you gain a deep insight into South African society, as into the Angolan War. Besides that, the author also reveals a story of initiation, which describes the development of Marnus Erasmus from child to adult. The book contains two time-levels. In the first one 12-year-old Marnus describes events which happened in December 1973 and which influence his later development from child to adult. This time-level gives the reader a detailed insight into South African society where blacks are still discriminated against. At first sight the Erasmus family seems to be a harmonious family, but during the development of the story, the reader realizes that this is not the case. Especially Marnus's father is not such an ideal as the reader is made to believe in the beginning. Outwardly he is a succesful and honourable general who fights for his ideals, but at a closer look he reveals perversion and cruelty. In addition to that, the reader notices how condescendingly the family behave towards blacks and how blacks in general are regarded by whites in South Africa. The second time-level deals with 26-year-old Marnus who fights in the Angolan War for South African troups. This sub-plot shows to what extent Marnus's childhood and especially the events in December 1973 influenced his later development and his behaviour in war. Although his father has revealed his face of evil to him when he was young, the reader realizes that he is still Marnus's idol. Moreover, the second time-level deals with the cruelty of war, with Apartheid and racism. The Smell of Apples is a very interesting book. The reader gains a general idea of different aspects. After reading only a few pages, he is interested in the development. The Smell of Apples is not only a book for those who are interested in Apartheid and South African history. Once you have started to read, you cannot stop.

"The Smell of Apples" an enthralling novel by Mark Behr:
"Memorable for the eye-opening authenticity with which Behr catches the Afrikaner mentality at home ... Behr's novel offers a disturbing confirmation that sincere and kindly people can still be the walking representation of evil" (Sunday Times) Mark Behr's first time novel "The Smell of Apples" won the prestigious CNA Literary Debut Award and the Eugene Marais Prize. It was a wordlwide success, because it contains one of the most expelling themes in South Africa of the last 30 years. Behr tells the story through the eyes of the 11-year old Marnus Erasmus who lives with his sister and parents in Cape Town of 1973.Behr links many aspects throughout the story so that the reader gets to know about Marnus's story of initiation, the apartheid system, the sexual mischiefs of his parents and Marnus being a 26-year old soldier in the Angolan Civil War. But mainly the reader is led through the week of Marnus's life becoming more smart and grown up.He and his sister Ilse especially try to behave like adults when a Chilean general visits the family. This so called Mr.Smith has a symbolic function in the novel, because he is the one(the snake)who steels the apples out the families Garden of Eden. All in all the novel by Mark Behr is a good introduction for readers who want to inform theirselves and who are interested in the apartheid system and the life of blacks and whites in this period of time.