July's People
Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature For years, it had been what is called a deteriorating situation.” Now all over South Africa the cities are battlegrounds. The members of the Smales familyliberal whitesare rescued from the terror by their servant, July, who leads them to refuge in his...
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Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature For years, it had been what is called a deteriorating situation.” Now all over South Africa the cities are battlegrounds. The members of the Smales familyliberal whitesare rescued from the terror by their servant, July, who leads them to refuge in his village. What happens to the Smaleses and to Julythe shifts in character and relationshipsgives us an unforgettable look into the terrifying, tacit understandings and misunderstandings between blacks and whites.
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780140061406 (0140061401)
ASIN: 140061401
Publish date: July 29th 1982
Publisher: Penguin
Pages no: 160
Edition language: English
Category:
Classics,
Novels,
Academic,
School,
Literature,
Cultural,
Africa,
Historical Fiction,
Literary Fiction,
Contemporary,
Nobel Prize,
African Literature
This is a brilliantly-written novella, though the style takes a little getting used to. The writing is densely packed with meaning but at the same time quite spare; every word and its placement counts.July’s People was first published in 1981, during the time of apartheid and unrest in South Africa,...
bookshelves: summer-2012, tbr-busting-2012, published-1981, afr-s-africa, african-continent, nobel-laureate Read from July 02 to 07, 2012 Opening Quote: The old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum there arises a great diversity of morbid symptons - Antonio Gramsci 'Prison Not...
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Gordimer has a nuanced intelligence that is quite genuine. And the book is stylistically rich. Still, I found it claustrophobic, the entire story taking place in a tiny and narrow settlement, and the resolution ambiguous and unsatisfying. Others may find this much more to their tastes.
The 5 stars you see flashing at you are not just any 5 stars. They are the end result of a whole day of deliberation. I happen to be one of those people who are not stingy with their ratings. If a book manages to bestow equal importance on both the prose and the message contained within in such a w...
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