The Covenant: A Novel Paperback – March 10, 2015

James A. Michener is one of the great American Novelists. He can write a sweeping story about a far off place with great credibility. In this book he writes about South Africa. The central theme is that the Dutch Settlers set up a unilateral covenant with God and proceeded to create what would become what amounts to a stunted, but great nation.As the United States grew into a vast nation through starter colonies in Plymouth and Jamestown, South Africa grew from the Cape Town starter colony. Jamestown was the seat of the Virginia Company and was operated as a business but in 1622 the Company went bankrupt and the colony became a government under Royal Charter. Plymouth, and the later Massachusetts Bay Colony sought to be a "City on a Hill" almost from the get-go. Cape Town though, is a Dutch Colony that remained under the control of the Dutch East Indies Company until the British picked up the area after the Napoleonic Wars. As a result, the Dutch Settlers migrated to, or were born into a society whose government, such as it was, only truly cared about the interests of the stock holders in far off Holland. As a result, the birthrate is suppressed for too long as women are transported only begrudgingly, culture is undeveloped, freedoms are clipped, and the labor force becomes one where a white super-caste rule over a colored half-caste of workers, further stunting the society.While the Boers are central to this story, Michener also adds in the vigorous British pioneers, soldiers, missionaries and administers to the mix. He also writes about the San Bushmen, capturing the essence of their stone-age society. He also writes about the Bantus-the mighty Xhosa and Zulu tribes that move into the eastern part of the land. As to the mysterious ruins at Zimbabwe, Michener speculates that it was the central capital of a vast African Empire, and he creates a great fictional account of that land.An engrossing story by a master novelist.

This is another excellent novel by James Michener that covers the history of South Africa. I knew very little about the history of South Africa prior to reading this book, but learned quite a bit after reading the book, and the book inspired me to do further research on South African history (as other James Michener books have inspired me to do). It covers the Zulu tribe, and how it came to be formed from a merger of various conquered tribes; it covers the Xhosa tribe and its influence in South Africa; it covers both the Dutch (who originally settled the area to use it as a stop-over station on the way to the Dutch East Indies) and English involvement in the area and how the two groups competed with each other at times (including the Boer War) and cooperated with each other at times (including the wars against the Zulus); it covers the wine industry that was developed in South Africa; it covers the arrival of the Protestant Huguenots who migrated to South Africa to escape Catholic persecution in Europe (particularly France). It is a well written historical novel that I would recommend to anyone. Like many James Michener novels, it is over 1,000 pages long, but it is an interesting read, and the pages go by very fast.

I’ve read most of Michener’s novels and this one seemed to be so packed with detailed exposition that the story line was hard at times to follow. Nevertheless and nBook by him is well worth the read

This storys timeline followed familial lines, the conflicts were exquisitely detailed, following the deeply woven theme of injustice and hope for the Black South Africans.

Wonderful, monumental, story telling of the birth and growing pains of a land and people so different from us...and yet so similar.My vocabulary has been increased 10 fold!Loved the historic sweep and connections of all the characters over hundreds of years. We were brought deeply into the hearts and minds of the villain's such that we understood their cause and their willingness to fight to the death.And oh! what they/we wrought upon so many millions of people under the auspicious of the Bible and how it was/is used to support such universal action as apartheid. Remarkable - chilling - scary.Not to be frivolous about such things, but a Woody Allen quote seems to sum things up. " If Jesus came back and saw what was being done in his name, he'd never stop throwing up."Anyway, Bravo Mr. Michener. I was so sad the story had to come to an end, so brilliant was the writing.

My husband and I were taking a trip to South Africa and decided to ready this book together. It was amazing, all on it's own with no trip planned. But, once we got to Cape Town, everything fell into place. We knew SO much about the place, thanks to the reading of this book. We felt informed and even a connection. It guided our sightseeing in a way. Who would have thought the chapter titled "A Hedge of Bitter Almond" would take us to Kirstenbosch Gardens to see the original. It gave up a personal history with fictional characters thrown in amongst real historical figures and events. If you are going to South Africa and are a reader, I cannot recommend this book enough. We even saw rock paintings on a friends farm in Namibia and we felt connected, knowing the history. Our next destination will definitely include a Michener book, if there is one written about it. This man is an excellent author and his attention to detail is great. There were so many things we were reading and we said "This can't be real!" and we looked it up on the internet and it was...this happened over and over. You can never have too much knowledge, whether you remember it or not!