Tom Lynch

Inspired by the true story of Amy Biehl, an American Fulbright scholar who was, while in South Africa, viciously stoned to death while she drove her student home from class, "Forgive Me," the latest from author Amanda Eyre Ward ("How to Be Lost," "Sleep Toward Heaven"), is taut, powerful and deeply melancholy, a message of memory and responsibility. Ward’s prose is elegant and dramatic without beating you over your head with sentimentality—this is a story, it seems, she needed to tell. Nadine Morgan, a world-traveling journalist, hasn’t returned to South Africa since she suffered great loss, until she hears of Jason Irving, a young American student who was beaten to death (this all occurs during the height of apartheid). The boy’s parents, years later, are devastated to find that their son’s killers have now applied for amnesty. The three venture to a land of chaos and tortured remembrance. Ward’s book, lovely and exhausting, should be devoured.

Amanda Eyre Ward reads from "Forgive Me" July 26 at The Book Stall, 811 Elm, Winnetka, (847)446-8880, at noon. Free. (2007-07-24)

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