In preparation for our recent trip to Namibia, this formed part of my preparatory reading. It's widely seen as a contender for the 'Great Namibian Novel', and deservedly so. It's set in the lead up to Namibia's independence from South Africa in 1990, and follows the experiences of Muronga, a rather naive young, newly married man living a traditional village life in rural Namibia. His life changes radically when the village is visited by commissioners from South Africa requiring villagers to pay taxes. Their traditional lifestyle operates without money, so Muronga and some other young men volunteer to go to work on gold and diamond mines in South Africa so the village can pay the taxes. Through his treatment in the mines he gradually becomes radicalised, and comes to understand the reality of apartheid. He and his colleagues then have to decide whether to join the revolutionary struggle, or go back to his wife and family.
It's a very powerful novel, written in a plain and direct prose style, and with respect and insight into the culture and beliefs of the Namibian people prior to independence.