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evelyn_parkhouse_reads's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
hannnah's review
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
natali_gramajo's review against another edition
3.0
Poco memorable. Lo terminé ayer y ya se me olvidaron varios detalles. Tuve que revisar mi resumen para darle una calificación.
rachael_baker8's review
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
punkrocknreticence's review
3.0
The Late Bourgeois World is a novel set in the apartheid-era in South Africa, and is narrated from the point of view of Liz Van Den Sandt — a white woman whose socio-political revolutionary ex-husband drowns himself after embarassingly betraying his cause and becoming a state witness on the case. On one level, this book gives to us a portrait of this man through the shadows left of him in Liz's mind.
This book speaks about the contradictory nature of the all-pervasive middle-class liberality, and how it applies to politics, society, sexual relations, racial equations, the institution of the family, and so on. Particularly interesting is Liz's relationship with her son, Bobo, who has the same Christian name as his father, Max.
Gordimer structures this book interestingly, arresting the reader with wonderful detail even in mundanity (reminiscent of Márquez). Most of the book places Liz and her life vis-a-vis the death of Max: it is as if her life has been divided down the middle into a 'before' and 'after'. Strangely, the central conflict of the book is introduced only in the concluding thirty pages or so, and is therefore left quite open-endedly. However, the uniqueness of this book comes from how it is rooted ever so deeply in the forever changing yet unchanging, corrupted world we live in: the late bourgeois world.
Overall, this is an interesting book with a certain lyricism to its writing, but one has to watch out for the insight wrapped in thick layers of political critique. Pros: glimpses into the nature of the protagonist-cum-single mother's sexual freedom are interesting. Con(fusions): the very misleading cover design.
This book speaks about the contradictory nature of the all-pervasive middle-class liberality, and how it applies to politics, society, sexual relations, racial equations, the institution of the family, and so on. Particularly interesting is Liz's relationship with her son, Bobo, who has the same Christian name as his father, Max.
Gordimer structures this book interestingly, arresting the reader with wonderful detail even in mundanity (reminiscent of Márquez). Most of the book places Liz and her life vis-a-vis the death of Max: it is as if her life has been divided down the middle into a 'before' and 'after'. Strangely, the central conflict of the book is introduced only in the concluding thirty pages or so, and is therefore left quite open-endedly. However, the uniqueness of this book comes from how it is rooted ever so deeply in the forever changing yet unchanging, corrupted world we live in: the late bourgeois world.
Overall, this is an interesting book with a certain lyricism to its writing, but one has to watch out for the insight wrapped in thick layers of political critique. Pros: glimpses into the nature of the protagonist-cum-single mother's sexual freedom are interesting. Con(fusions): the very misleading cover design.
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