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savaging 's review for:
July's People
by Nadine Gordimer
My problems with this book are internal to myself: I have so little understanding of the wider context of South Africa in the early 80s. I wanted Gordimer to talk more about the atrocities that led up to revolution, instead of sitting with the nuances of the liberal white family's hurt feelings; I wanted each line of dialogue to be in quotations, with a 'So-and-so said' included; I wanted more thoughts and emotions from the black characters; I wanted Gordimer to sacrifice beauty of the words for clarity of meaning.
I read afterward that Gordimer was fiercely against Apartheid, and that helped assuage some of my anxieties about the book. But because of my outsiders' view, I overwhelmingly wanted more clarity and less nuance. Those with a better insiders' look can have a greater appreciation (and more insightful critique) of this tense and glittering little book.
I read afterward that Gordimer was fiercely against Apartheid, and that helped assuage some of my anxieties about the book. But because of my outsiders' view, I overwhelmingly wanted more clarity and less nuance. Those with a better insiders' look can have a greater appreciation (and more insightful critique) of this tense and glittering little book.