Saint Blaise
A Novel
by Robert Dewar
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Pub Date 28 Feb 2025 | Archive Date 25 Mar 2025
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Description
Blaise is thirteen years old when this story opens in 1968. Within the stratified society of Cape Town during the height of the Apartheid era, his family occupies the very top rung of the social and economic ladder. Gifted, popular, good looking, Blaise is set for a life of happiness and success. But during his third year at university, tragedy strikes, and Blaise’s life is turned upside down. He opts to waive his student deferment from military service, and 1975 sees him participating in South Africa’s first campaign against regular Cuban forces in Angola.
Brought up in a Catholic family, Blaise’s Catholic faith now becomes more important to him than ever before, and in pursuit of what he believes is a divine command, he finds himself in Rhodesia during the tail end of that country’s vicious bush war. And here, Blaise must endure the single greatest hardship and horror of his life, and suffer a terrible ordeal, and it is from this moment that he begins to acquire his reputation as a Catholic mystic and holy man.
A Note From the Publisher
Advance Praise
Amazon reviews of Of Sidearms and Dinner Jackets (2023):
"Robert Dewar is a born storyteller. This is a gorgeous, evocative tapestry of what life was once like at Mohali pa Kupumzika in the Highlands of Equatoria.
The writing is genuine. Nothing is romanticised. The dying embers of a British Colony in Africa in the early 1960s is dense with detail and highly atmospheric. It is engaging and beguiling and a constant delight to read.
This is a book full of glorious nostalgia. It is subtle and shrewd, and warm and wise, and flawlessly brave. The characters constantly touched my heart with a very special sort of magic."
Amazon review of Nineteen Seventy-Six (2024):
"I have taken great pleasure from reading Robert Dewar's superb novels over the last few years and his latest is every bit as evocative and compelling.
Robert paints a picture of Africa which very few in the UK have ever experienced with genuine affection and vivid realism.
'Nineteen Seventy-Six' is a homage to a lost way of life in a country on the brink of monumental change where old values would be replaced by a brave new world of tolerance finally gaining power over racial prejudice and servitude. It is also a love story.
The author has great skill at taking every day events and molding them into a fascinating and engrossing tapestry. Into this tapestry he weaves characters full of empathy and passion."
Amazon review of Mallaig Road (2022):
"A great combination of intimate characterization and descriptive scene setting in a middle class family enjoying life in a landscape still new to them. A text full of poignant, endearing moments and well-placed empathy."
Amazon review of Hemispheres (2022):
"This is a work of unique perception, written with passion and courage."
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781836287254 |
| PRICE | £3.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 288 |
