Imaginings of Sand, by Andre Brink (Minerva, £6.99 in UK)

Drawn by the imminent death of her adored grandmother, Kristien Muller returns to South Africa after an 11 year stay in London. Her life is a mess. Meanwhile, her country has become a society on the brink of change. This novel has problems, not least of which is the central character. By attempting to juggle reality with magic realism, Brink, author of the superb Rumours of Rain (1978) is effectively writing two novels which are slightly at war with each other. Never the most polished of literary stylists, he is still a good writer with important things to say; and the humanity and honesty of this strange, brave book about an odd family in an even odder society almost succeeds because of, rather than in spite of its many shortcomings.