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3.31 AVERAGE
3.31 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This isn't a review, as much as it is a memory of the impact Gordimer had on me. She has now passed away, this past Sunday. In January I read my first novel by her, July's People. It is still so fresh in my mind. One of my favorite professors gave me a copy of Nadine's short story collection after hearing I traveled to South Africa that summer. I'll have to pull it out today in remembrance.
"They had fled the fighting in the streets, the danger for their children, the necessity to defend their lives in the name of ideals they didn't share in a destroyed white society they didn't believe in."
------------
I finished this in about 12 hours. I'm always quickly taken in by any book about South Africa, especially one that examines the dynamics between whites and Africans during the Apartheid. This novel imagined an alternate future wherein South Africa was invaded by Mozambique and other neighboring nations. The privileged white family is forced to rely on the care and secrecy of their servant, July, who hides them in his rural village.
As the novel progresses, Bam is forced to acknowledge that he cannot thrive in this new world despite his talents of hunting and fixing mechanical items. Maureen experiences a kind of awakening, in part due to her ongoing tete-a-tete with July himself. July begins the novel by bringing his employers coffee and milk- continuing his subservient role. However, as the novel progresses, he begins to shift and he becomes more assertive. This forces Bam and Maureen to confront their complicity in a society that separated him from his people for 2 years at a time but allowed them to pat themselves on the back for their progressiveness in "allowing" him certain basic human rights.
Ultimately the parents are forced to face that they were miserly and cruel in their own way and upheld a system of subjugation. Their children quickly adapt to life in the village and grasp much faster that the Africans they oppressed are just as individual in their natures as the whites who held power.
------------
I finished this in about 12 hours. I'm always quickly taken in by any book about South Africa, especially one that examines the dynamics between whites and Africans during the Apartheid. This novel imagined an alternate future wherein South Africa was invaded by Mozambique and other neighboring nations. The privileged white family is forced to rely on the care and secrecy of their servant, July, who hides them in his rural village.
As the novel progresses, Bam is forced to acknowledge that he cannot thrive in this new world despite his talents of hunting and fixing mechanical items. Maureen experiences a kind of awakening, in part due to her ongoing tete-a-tete with July himself. July begins the novel by bringing his employers coffee and milk- continuing his subservient role. However, as the novel progresses, he begins to shift and he becomes more assertive. This forces Bam and Maureen to confront their complicity in a society that separated him from his people for 2 years at a time but allowed them to pat themselves on the back for their progressiveness in "allowing" him certain basic human rights.
Ultimately the parents are forced to face that they were miserly and cruel in their own way and upheld a system of subjugation. Their children quickly adapt to life in the village and grasp much faster that the Africans they oppressed are just as individual in their natures as the whites who held power.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Evocative? Yes. Deep and thought-provoking? In spades. But if, like me, you like resolution or even clarity, this book is not for you. Interesting stuff.
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated