“This is a book of profound importance. Through its pages there runs a deep and sympathetic understanding of a troubled country. A masterpiece.” Alexander McCall Smith - author.
"A gripping and layered true story of crime, punishment, and redemption.” Judges for South Africa’s Sunday Times Literary Award shortlist.
“A vintage crime story… It is written as a drama, part thriller, part tragedy. Harding’s telling of the victims’ and perpetrators’ stories… lifts this account into the top rank.” Alec Russell. Financial Times.
“A remarkable and beautifully written investigation into dark and murderous events in a small, rural South African community. Very much in the tradition of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and rightly described by Alexander McCall Smith as a masterpiece.” Judges for the Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger awards shortlist.
“Utterly gripping, timely and shocking.” Philippe Sands - author.
“A compelling and disturbing book about a crime and its aftermath in small-town South Africa.“ Damon Galgut, Times Literary Supplement
“Every so often a book comes very close to defining a nation. In this extraordinary, fast-paced and exquisitely written true story South Africa’s brutal and divided past, its complex present and contested future collide in an explosive narrative of murder, race, class and human cruelty. This is In Cold Blood meets Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil. Believe me, Andrew Harding has given us an instant classic. If you want to understand the true, chilling heart of South Africa today then go out and buy this utterly gripping book. You will thank me later. Not since former New York Times editor Joe Lelyveld’s 1980s classic Move Your Shadow has a foreign correspondent written such a searing account of South Africa and its tragedies and hopes. It should be read not just by South Africans but far and wide by those who wish to understand truth and reconciliation, fear and redemption. And those who love a masterful story.” Justice Malala - South African columnist, author and broadcaster.
"A smartly paced true-crime thriller with a vivid cast of characters, “These are not Gentle People” is as tense as it is disturbing, richly evoking the mood of a dark, dry place in the heart of South Africa where racial fear lingers, brutal rage flares and everyone remains trapped in the cruel coils of history." John Carlin, author of Playing The Enemy (the basis for the film Invictus.)
“These Are Not Gentle People” is a South African tragedy. Page after page, reveals the painful truth, that the sun has set on Mandela’s Rainbown Nation. Dreams and hopes of a better future have been silenced by fear, racial tension and a disengaged political system. The lives of the characters, from the landless and poor blacks, to the white landowners caught in a vortex of fear and oblivion, are a true reflection of South Africa’s unfinished business – building a country that belongs to all. For the people of Parys, that dream is elusive and the contestation for a place under the sun, is fierce, brutal and deadly. A gripping and painful read, told with empathy and nuance, These Are Not Gentle People, is an uncomfortable reminder that the past is not over.” Redi Thlabi - South African broadcaster.
“Reveals a country at sullen war with itself…” Best True Crime book of 2020 – Strong Words Magazine
“This is a transfixingly good book… thrilling, affecting, well-paced, emotionally deep, utterly satisfying. Reminiscent of… Truman Capote and Norman Mailer.” Gordon Peake. Canberra Times.
“Uncomfortable and disturbing, but impossible to put down… From the first paragraph it is a fast-paced suspenseful thriller. A disturbing and moving story of fear and suspicion… Harding writes so well and with so much empathy and insight.” Vryeweekblad - Afrikaans newspaper.
“Harding does his homework. These Are Not Gentle People is a reminder of what is wrong with us as a ‘rainbow people.’” Don Makatile. Sunday Independent.
“An extremely beautiful, profound, disturbing, magnificent book. I can’t recommend it more highly.” Marrianne Thamm, The Daily Maverick.
“Extraordinary. Searing, chilling, and difficult to read. But it really is essential reading.” Mandy Weiner, Radio 702.
“Wow! What a book! I cannot believe I’m going to read too many better non-fiction books. It points out how messy, complex and nuanced is almost everything is in our society. It is exceptional.” John Maytham’s Books of the Week – CapeTalk Radio
“A stunning, if jarring narrative non-fiction work. Buy and read this book. It's as good as his excellent first book, The Mayor of Mogadishu. This story doesn't reduce to black and white racial tropes even as it doesn't shy away from the racism and racist history that inform the lives of the characters and their social relations in Parys.” Eusebius McKaiser – columnist and radio host.
“The book reads like a thriller. It’s beautifully written, but it leaves a bitter taste in one’s mouth.” Michelle Constant, SAFM.
“A non-fiction crime drama that intimately explores South Africa’s divisions.” Daily Maverick review.
“A searing reminder that justice is a luxury that not many can afford.” Chris Roper, Financial Mail.
“Incredibly well-written and nearly impossible to put down… reads like a classic murder mystery.” Pam Magwaza. Drum.
