Jump
and Other Stories
by Nadine Gordimer (1991)
While the subject matters — the (moral and psychological tensions of) life in a racially-divided country — would normally be treated in a political manner, in this book Gordimer observes and writes stories with seemingly no committed specific political ideologies.
Readers familiar with Gordimer’s works will recognise the stories about ‘white’ families, living side by side with ‘blacks’, refugees fleeing civil war, (illusions of) love and danger, the awareness of the lack of commonities, the insecurity and the enstrangement, both personal and political. Intersection of private lives and public events, the relationship between individuals and society, society and history are keenly observed, and written straightforwardly, the stories, with no vanities, didactism or cheap sentiment.
Tags:Africa, short stories
Africa, Gordimer, Nadine, Recommended, short stories
May 10, 2006 @ 11:32 pm | 1 Comment
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May 11th, 2006at 11:45 pm(#)
[...] New reviews at books @ cc. Strangers: Homosexual Love in the Nineteenth Century by Graham Robb. Challenges the common assumptions of the Victorian age as a tabloid image of homophobic hell populated by mean-spirited, fearful and envious ignoramuses from which gay people eventually liberated themselves. Jump: and Other Stories by Nadine Gordimer. No-cadence stories of (moral and psychological tensions of) life in a racially-divided country written with seemingly no committed specific political ideologies. As expected of Gordimer. We Did Nothing: Why the Truth Doesn’t Always Come Out When the UN Goes In by Linda Polman. Common horrifying-slash-absurd images of “humanitarian” movements gone wrong (as always). If anyone wants the book, I’ll ship it to you gladly. The Balkans by Mark Mazower. A short but broad-ranging history book, challenging the common one-dimensional stereotype of “the Balkans”. [...]