About this title: The son in a black family in South Africa spots his father with a white woman--both of them activists in the anti-apartheid cause. This is one of Nadine Gordimer's few novels to deal with the issue of apartheid from the point of view of a black character.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1990
ISBN-13:9780374217518ISBN:0374217513
Description: Poor in Very Good jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, c1990. Hardcover, Stated First Edition, Book poor water damage, good reading copy, /Dust Jacket Very Good. A little cover soiling, a little cover edge rubbing, a little dust jacket soiling. 277 p.; 24 cm. Man-woman relationships--Fiction. South Africa--Fiction. Domestic fiction. Binding is HB. ISBN: 0374217513. read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics), New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780140159752ISBN:0140159754
Description: Very Good. 0140159754 Previously read trade paperback book in very good condition, some very minor shelf wear, no rips or tears. 447000004 _ read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Penguin Books
Date Published: 1991
ISBN-13:9780140159752ISBN:0140159754
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. 277 pgs in gd condition w/some underlinings and writing in margins; cover has slight wear on edges. A work of bleak beauty and enormous force. read more
Description: 277pp. paperback: Very Good [covers are faded; text is lightly age browned; else VG] The South African writer Nadine Gordimer (b. 1923) won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991. read more
"A young, black South African, who is playing hookey at a local cinema, runs into his father, a former school teacher and now an anti-apartheid political activist, in the company of a blond woman who is obviously his lover. Thus begins a tale, told primarily by the son, of complex political and familial entanglements. Gordimer is an astute observer of the way lives, complicated enough already, become even more so in a treacherous and ever-shifting political landscape like that which existed in her native South Africa for so many years. She is also a master of shifting point-of-view and illustrates here not only how a son's vision of his father slowly changes over time but also how that father's action might be seen from perspectives outside of the family. Still the tale of the family dominates, and the biggest surprise in this novel comes from within the family. That surprise should not be ruined here. Suffice it to say that Gordimer is always a challenging and rewarding read. I continue to be a very big fan!"
"Third Nadine Gordimer book and I still can't decide what I think of her. Quote i like though (or paraphrase as book is not here with me where i am for internet: "words, too, are stones." (re South Africa)"
"This book is about apartheid, about freedom, about broken families, about sacrifices, about 'cheating' in marriage, strength in weakness and despite weakness. I thought in new ways about the struggle for freedom in South Africa and the author's insights into infidelity in marriage resonated with me."
"There is wisdom in this book, per usual for Gordimer. She understands family and revolution. But I tired of Will's ferocity towards his cheating father, and the father's fierce attachment to his lover. Maybe another time."
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