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The Quarry
The Quarry
Jan 14, 2026 3:58 PM

Author:Damon Galgut

The Quarry

Give yourself up. Whatever you've done. They'll find you. In the end.

A man with no name staggers down a lonely stretch of road that cuts through the simmering veld of rural South Africa. He is exhausted and hungry yet dives for the long grass whenever cars approach. He is on the run.

When a minister on his way to a new congregation offers help - at a price - the fugitive's desperation boils over. Stealing the minister's identity, he is successfully taken in by the township. But when a body is discovered in a nearby quarry, and the local police captain's suspicions grow, the hunt reignites with devastating consequences.

'One of South Africa's great literary voices' Economist

'Galgut's prose feels as if it's been fired through a crucible, burning away all the comfortable excess until only a hard, concentrated purity remains' Daily Telegraph

Reviews

An extremely atmospheric book in a hazy, raw and entirely realistic sense.... Galgut's story suggests that such points on the map, despite their ghostly quiet, are seething with repressed violence, ready to explode.... A compelling read about guilt and evasion of truth

—— The Spectator

In a bleak morality tale about a fugitive from justice, Galgut again demonstrates his flair for charting the vicissitudes of human despair in modern-day South Africa

—— Publisher's Weekly

An...uncompromising journey into the heart of South Africa's darkness, written in prose that is at once stark and striking. The Quarry is Galgut's homage to Dostoevsky

—— Literary Review

A remarkable achievement...Galgut's prose has a spare beauty, suggesting volcanic emotions held rigorously in check

—— Kirkus Reviews

This taut existential thriller...divulges little but manages to suggest volumes... Stark, almost brutal minimalism

—— Boston Globe

The Quarry has [a] dry, feral quality... Galgut's landscape reminds a reader of Breyten Breytenbach's South Africa...roads leading to some vanishing point, the feeling of pursuit... The issues of guilt, injustice and redemption give the novel a biblical feel. The writing shines in its peripheral vision, in the backdrops and corners of its scenes

—— Los Angeles Times

One of South Africa's great literary voices

—— The Economist

[Galgut's] prose feels as if it's been fired through a crucible, burning away all the comfortable excess until only a hard, concentrated purity remains.... There are thrilling images here, powerful themes and almost scarily precise writing... Galgut is at the leading edge of what is turning out to be a brilliant documentation of South Africa's post-apartheid transition

—— Daily Telegraph

Beautifully written

—— Guardian

A minimalist, almost allegorical story... Its tension is almost unbearable

—— Library Journal

[A] spare, intense story of rural South Africa... His clear, elemental prose is never generic

—— Booklist

The scenes of township, quarry and shorescape have a strange, Beckett-like glow and menace

—— Scotland on Sunday

We not only read the narrative, but seem to be participating in the headlong rush of events.... A minor masterpiece. The Quarry is told in clear prose where every word counts and the plot and characters are utterly compelling

—— Sunday Herald

A slim, haunting work of poignancy and near perfection

—— The Globe and Mail

Galgut writes here with a combination of JM Coetzee's uncluttered simplicity - every sentence stands out, and so seems pregnant with meaning - and Cormac McCarthy's rhythmic biblical dread

—— The Times

Glück is a poet to guide us through the frightening world

—— Thea Hawlin

Glück's is a voice unlike any other, teeming with phrases and stanzas that are sets of instructions on how to be human

—— Ian McMillan

[Serpell captures] the child's-eye perspective with great flair...along with the secrecy and judgement of the adult world

—— Times Literary Supplement

An endlessly innovative and deeply moving exploration of grief and family

—— White Review, *Books of the Year*

Highly accomplished

—— London Review of Books

This raw and powerful read shows Carrie growing and learning, about herself as much as others. Though she's an abrasive character, readers will cheer her on every step of the way

—— Sunday Express

TJR is surely the queen of escapist fiction

—— Sunday Telegraph

This top-rank tale of beating the odds is full of heart and breezy charm

—— Metro

Altogether, it makes for a gripping and engaging read about a woman persevering against all odds, recognising your limits and knowing when to push back. As well as a complex and nuanced character study, Carrie Soto is Back offers its readers a warm-hearted story of the love between a father and a daughter, as well a tender journey of learning how to love yourself and open up to others too. Between the action-packed tennis matches, Carrie's emotional reckoning and the wider commentary of women having to continuously fight for recognition in male-dominated fields, Taylor Jenkins Reid has crafted another compelling novel that effortlessly draws in readers and will no doubt keep them thinking about Carrie Soto long after they turn the final page

—— Culturefly

At times, her prose is so engaging that you feel as though you are waiting on the baseline while Soto gets ready to serve an unstoppable ace

—— Independent (Ireland)

In Carrie Soto is Back, as at Flushing Meadows this and next month, there are great rivalries, millions of dollars and legacies on the line. Letting go cuts deep. But, boy, there is glamour

—— Tatler

The author has created another heroine we can't quite work out whether we like, but we're rooting for her anyway because she's fabulous

—— Woman's Weekly

Another delectable slice of escapism drama

—— Living North

Pacy, propulsive and utterly immersive, you're going to want to read this

—— Elle

Taylor has done it again . . . a brilliant and dynamic book about what it means to be an ambitious woman- for better or for worse

—— Woman

With a wonderfully complex character, a world you can't help being seduced by, and an important message about it never being too late, TJR has served up another ace

—— Heat

Frank, funny and emotional

—— Marie Claire

A fascinatingly realistic look into the world of elite sports where driven and flawed characters' private lives are just as intriguing and controversial as they are on the court

—— Business Post

This is a well-researched, exciting and genuinely tender book

—— RTÉ
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