The Greatest Game

The Greatest Game introduces you to a schoolboy named Rupertheimer, one of the zaniest characters ever featured in South African literature, even in his youth it could be seen that here was a man set apart. A mover and shaker who would one day play a pivotal role in the democratic transition, and all his friends shivered in their boots, while they waited apprehensively for this to happen. The novel takes you through schooldays and military service, where Rupertheimer shows early signs of the remarkable prescience, that he would one day use to steer his country to democracy. Set against the background of a transforming South Africa, The Greatest Game paints a scenario you may not have seen before, because thus far the transition has been inclusively written by liberal journalists. Yet people still ponder the 'miracle' 1994 transition to democracy, as today they wonder about the 'miraculous' rise of Jacob Zuma to the presidency, the Pat Stevens novels explain how these 'miracles' are arranged.