South African writer Futhi Ntshingila’s 2021 novel They Got to You Too is set for an international reissue in spring 2024. The novel will be republished by Edition Tropisme in France.

Originally published by PanMacmillan South Africa, They Got to You Too is the winner of the 2022 Sharjah International Book Fair Prize. The story revolves around the conversations between a former police general who survived the 1899 South African War and the daughter of liberation activists who is taking care of him at an old age home during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Read the full synopsis below:

Hans van Rooyen is a former police general raised by two women who survived the 1899 South African War. He finds himself being cared for in an old age home by the daughter of liberation struggle activists. At 80, he carries with him the memories of crimes he committed as an officer under the apartheid government. Having eluded the public confessions at the TRC for his time in the Border Wars, he retained his position in the democratic South Africa, serving as an institutional memory for a new generation of police recruits.

Zoe Zondi is tasked to care for the old man. Her gentle and compassionate nature prompts Hans to review his decision to go to the grave with all his secrets. Zoe has her own life story to tell and, as their unlikely bond deepens, strengthened by the isolation that COVID-19 lockdown brings, they provide a safe space for each other to say the things that are often left unsaid.

Futhi Ntshingila is a South African writer who lives in Pretoria. She holds a Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution and her writing centers on women and marginalized communities. She has published Shameless (2008), Do Not Go Gentle (2014), and We Kiss Them With Rain (2018).

Congrats to Ntshingila on the reissue!