At the Edge of the Desert

Book excerpt: In the Namibian harbour town of Lüderitz, a liminal space where desert meets ocean, a terrible history is made intimate and personal when filmmaker Henry van Wyk must confront a childhood tragedy that has moulded his life. Having returned to his birthplace in an attempt to get his career back on track, Henry struggles to complete a documentary he is working on. He whiles away his mornings swimming in a nearby tidal pool on Shark Island, and finds himself increasingly drawn to the small town and its romantic possibilities. But the tranquil land hides a bloody history: Shark Island was once the site of a concentration camp, and a law firm is suing the German government for their role in the genocide of Namibia’s indigenous people. When Henry begins to interview the survivors’ descendants, their testimonies compel him to search the desert for a mass grave. At the Edge of the Desert is a meditation on loss, isolation and love, which asks us to consider the implications of telling someone else’s story.