The Promise

Highlighting the motif of death and the cycle of life, this section contains many instances of repetition of earlier events or characterizations. For instance, Desirée’s unreasonably rude treatment of Salome mirrors Marina, who never missed an opportunity to order Salome around in earlier sections. The awkward tone of the funeral matches Reverend Simmers’s and Father Batty’s funeral sermons in earlier sections. Desirée’s initial annoyance at having to interact with Amor and growing urge to confide in her harkens back to Astrid and Anton feeling the same way in earlier sections. Whether by pointing out ongoing national struggles across the presidencies of many South African leaders or by pointing out these similarities in personal interactions within the Swart clan, the novel continuously emphasizes that underneath superficial changes there often lurks a weighty resistance to change, highlighting The Difficulty of Addressing Past Injustices.

When Amor finds Anton’s unfinished novel, it bears uncanny resemblances to The Promise. By making Anton’s novel so like his own novel, Galgut reminds readers of the constructed nature of all narratives. Throughout the novel, the narrative voice frequently draws attention to the fact that the story is a fictional one. In Part 4, as Amor heads to Salome’s house to finally fulfill the promise, she carries the necessary paperwork Salome will need. The narrator comments on the timing of this detail: “Though it’s too soon for her to have [the paperwork], let’s say that she does, let’s say the lawyer drew up the document this morning and gave it to her, so there it is, right in front of your eyes, she has the paper in her hand” (259). The narrator acknowledges here that Amor’s speedy receipt of these documents could not possibly have happened given the slowness of bureaucracy. Nevertheless, he also implies that stories are better when action is happening, not when characters are sitting around waiting for legal documents.

In moments like these, Galgut deliberately violates the reader’s suspension of disbelief, reminding them that they are reading a piece of fiction. Far from rendering the whole story pointless, this technique forces the reader to reflect on how this story is constructed and why Galgut made so many unique, experimental choices. Most importantly, it forces the reader to notice that all narratives are constructed from a particular point of view, and the way this narrative persistently omits Salome’s point of view mirrors the narrative methods of many societies riddled with systemic inequality.

Anton’s novel, telling the Swart story from his own lightly fictionalized viewpoint, would doubtless present the same events in very different ways than The Promise. By invoking the idea of the novel’s events told from a single character’s perspective, Galgut emphasizes that every story has a perspective and also omits someone’s perspective. The Promise most notably omits Salome’s perspective as a strategic representation of the Swarts’ incuriosity about her thoughts and feelings.