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81st out of 304 books
—
243 voters
My Son's Story
Playing truant, Will slips off to a movie theatre near Johannesburg and is shocked to see his father there--with a woman he doesn't know. The father is a "colored" schoolteacher who has become a hero in the struggle against apartheid; his companion is a white activist fiercely dedicated to the cause.
Published
(first published 1990)
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Another wonderful book by Gordimer, I thought this was a seamlessly written gem. Again Gordimer tells a riveting story, creates fully drawn characters, brilliantly uses interior monologue and descriptive writing, and at the same time inserts the insideousness of racism and the scars of apartheid between every line.
Readers feel what it was like for blacks living in racist South Africa, and also an insightful look at the evolution of a marriage, a love affair, a father-son relationship and a young...more
Readers feel what it was like for blacks living in racist South Africa, and also an insightful look at the evolution of a marriage, a love affair, a father-son relationship and a young...more
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Will, playing truant, bumps into his father with a white woman at a movie theater. A narrative unfolds of reflections enmeshed with aggressive personal bitterness and the political upheaval of the times in South Africa. Nadine Gordimer’s 'My Son’s Story' becomes the story of the son, the father, the mother, and the father’s woman: embedded in the interplay of race, gender, politics, family, love and commitment.
‘It was because of them whose pigments darkened the blood, procreated a murky dilution...more
‘It was because of them whose pigments darkened the blood, procreated a murky dilution...more
My dear friend Carrie lent me this book, which made me both elated (I love getting book recommendations!) and nervous (what if I didn't like it). My fears were totally groundless though - the book is awesome. I had only heard of Gordimer in the context of a long New York Review of Books article about South African writers, which as is sometimes the case with the NYRB, made me feel like I knew everything about her, and didn't need to actually read her work. Big mistake! (And worse, probably means...more
I read this book on a volunteer stay in South Africa. It gave me a much deeper understanding of issues and pain around apartheid. The characterization is subtle, the prose hefty and authoritative. What interested me especially was how the main characters--all "colored" (i.e. issue of slaves brought to Africa from the Far East long ago) viewed the "blacks." Here's a quote, long but good:
"The blacks appeared in the community hawking tomatoes and onions, putting up a fence, digging a trench, even h...more
"The blacks appeared in the community hawking tomatoes and onions, putting up a fence, digging a trench, even h...more
A young, black South African, who is playing hookey at a local cinema, runs into his father, a former school teacher and now an anti-apartheid political activist, in the company of a blond woman who is obviously his lover. Thus begins a tale, told primarily by the son, of complex political and familial entanglements. Gordimer is an astute observer of the way lives, complicated enough already, become even more so in a treacherous and ever-shifting political landscape like that which existed in he...more
Sinceramente leggere questo libro non era in programma, considerando che non è neanche nella mia wish list, ma penso che mi abbia chiamato e come tutte le cose inaspettate, è stato un bel dono leggerlo.
"Storia di mio figlio" è una storia di passioni, emozioni forti e di lotta politica. E' una storia di un uomo, Sonnny, un insegnante che si è sempre battuto per "quelli come lui", ovvero la popolazione nera,ma anche un ex detenuto imprigionato per "crimini politici" diviso dall'amore per due donn...more
"Storia di mio figlio" è una storia di passioni, emozioni forti e di lotta politica. E' una storia di un uomo, Sonnny, un insegnante che si è sempre battuto per "quelli come lui", ovvero la popolazione nera,ma anche un ex detenuto imprigionato per "crimini politici" diviso dall'amore per due donn...more
The writing is crisp, coherent. Too often I find myself cringing inwardly at strange phrases, cliches, awful dialogue, but Gordimer has yet to do that for me. It seems sad to give such an off-hand compliment in this way; at the same time, I cannot say the writing was dazzling or gorgeous. Competent. Good.
For a story that is about political upheaval, it is remarkably quiet--it's less about public unrest and more about how that invades the private unrest of one family. We see the story through a s...more
For a story that is about political upheaval, it is remarkably quiet--it's less about public unrest and more about how that invades the private unrest of one family. We see the story through a s...more
It's been a while since I've read a Gordimer book, and I think this 1990 novel is one of her best. A wonderfully engaging, sad, funny, perceptive story of an African middle class family during the times of increasing African resistance to the apartheid regime, told alternately from the perspectives of father and son--but the mother and daughter are key figures, too. Along with the "political" story is a moving story of family relationships and growing up to understand the complexities of what at...more
The author assumed a level of familiarity with South African history and politics that I just didn't have, and she didn't explain anything well enough to inform or educate the reader. So without that context, this was basically a story about a father's infidelity and a family's way of coping with that amidst a backdrop of a revolutionary struggle. Unfortunately, none of the protagonists are very likeable or well-developed. I had higher expectations for a Nobel laureate. I also got really tired o...more
Aug 17, 2012
Rick Edwards
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
human-condition
My Son's Story is an extraordinary achievement, a tale of presumably a "Cape Colored" family in apartheid era South Africa. The husband/father, a school teacher, stumbles into the liberation movement, eventually doing jail time. That experience transforms the family relationships with a series of complications. Others also become involved, and--given the requirements of underground involvement--have secrets from each other. Ultimately, the movement advances, Sonny, the protagonist, enters realms...more
Un buon romanzo davvero questa Storia di mio figlio, di Nadine Gordimer, da leggersi lentamente, soffermandosi sulle parole e sugli stati d’animo.
Sullo sfondo delle lotte contro l’apartheid, si sviluppa e dipana la storia di una famiglia al cui interno, poco a poco, i rapporti mutano, vengono inaspettatamente riconsiderati e prendono strade impreviste, cogliendo di sorpresa persino i suoi stessi membri.
Scritto con maestria, sebbene vada detto che alcuni passaggi non sono del tutto riusciti, lasc...more
Sullo sfondo delle lotte contro l’apartheid, si sviluppa e dipana la storia di una famiglia al cui interno, poco a poco, i rapporti mutano, vengono inaspettatamente riconsiderati e prendono strade impreviste, cogliendo di sorpresa persino i suoi stessi membri.
Scritto con maestria, sebbene vada detto che alcuni passaggi non sono del tutto riusciti, lasc...more
*(3) out of 5 Serious Book Club
Set in Apartied South Afrika it's about Will knowing of his African National Congress father's affair with a white ANC lawyer. I had no sympathy for Sonny (father) and there was not enough of Will who also could not move on ...... only the cheated on Mother and daughter are sympathetic characters, and I won't give away the end which gave it a 3 and not a 2.
This is an important book for anyone interested in South Africa and it's history and struggles but Sonny was s...more
Set in Apartied South Afrika it's about Will knowing of his African National Congress father's affair with a white ANC lawyer. I had no sympathy for Sonny (father) and there was not enough of Will who also could not move on ...... only the cheated on Mother and daughter are sympathetic characters, and I won't give away the end which gave it a 3 and not a 2.
This is an important book for anyone interested in South Africa and it's history and struggles but Sonny was s...more
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Set in early '90's South Africa, the novel begins with the narrator finding out that his father, a black political activist, is having an affair with a white woman.
I had expected the story to deal more directly with the looming end of apartheid. Instead, the themes one would expect - race relations, violence, political change - seemed much more part of the "setting" than the story itself, which was more about family secrets, dichotomous relationships, and the like. So, not really the novel that...more
I had expected the story to deal more directly with the looming end of apartheid. Instead, the themes one would expect - race relations, violence, political change - seemed much more part of the "setting" than the story itself, which was more about family secrets, dichotomous relationships, and the like. So, not really the novel that...more
I really enjoyed this. It was very dense, which sometimes made it hard to follow, but the density really allowed her to pack in ideas. Every sentence had layer upon layer of meaning to it. I almost hate to forward my interpretation, because I'm positive anyone could read it and come out with a different idea (I'm going to anyway though). I was really struck by the intersection of the personal and political in this book. How they interpret the politics of their day through the lens of their perso...more
There was good writing, interesting story line amidst the historical racial struggle in South Africa, and topics that range from the parent-child relationship, the marital or extra marital relationship, and the relationship with oneself. I think I would have given it one more star or more stars if I felt more engaged with the main character, Will. Just felt like there was something lacking and can't really pin point what that is at this moment. I did enjoy the strength in character of the mother...more
i was a little tired of all the characters in the book. The son seemed so obsessed with things, with such a notion of self importance. The mother, the father, Baby, Hannah--all of them seemed too intense, too involved. And then towards the end of book, with Hannah and Sonny under the orange blossoms, i realized it could not have been different. It had to be like this. 'Needing Hannah', you are no longer in control of things.
A well-crafted work bringing the personal and the political together in...more
A well-crafted work bringing the personal and the political together in...more
Story about a well to do family in South Africa. The father is a very respected, well known teacher. He usually stays out of all that is going on, but one day he decides to walk with his students to a happening - students against police. He says he can at least keep rocks out of their hands. One student however starts a fire & he is now always being watched in the way they watch political dissenters. He is fired from teaching job & becomes very political, an orator at meetings and a lead...more
Gordimer tells the story of the Apartheid from an interesting perspective and places the social and political atmosphere of Apartheid South Africa as the background for one family's struggle with love, parenting, and social justice. A little dense at times, I needed to read some paragraphs more than once, but the story is intense and has many levels.
Nadine Gordimer always delights me--her writing is so beautiful and unique and evocative. The subject matter is heavy, and I know a lot less about politics in South Africa and Apartheid than I wish I did, so I've enjoyed gaining insight as I work my way through her books.
My Son's Story is a really interesting story about a boy coping with his activist father's affair with a white woman. The story shifts points of view and captures both the internal struggles of the family portrayed and the broad...more
My Son's Story is a really interesting story about a boy coping with his activist father's affair with a white woman. The story shifts points of view and captures both the internal struggles of the family portrayed and the broad...more
This book is about apartheid, about freedom, about broken families, about sacrifices, about 'cheating' in marriage, strength in weakness and despite weakness. I thought in new ways about the struggle for freedom in South Africa and the author's insights into infidelity in marriage resonated with me.
I liked the premise of this story- a teenage boy who discovers his father's affair with a white woman during the time of apartheid in South Africa, but I just couldn't get into the politics of the story. There were some slow places in this book, but overall a decent read.
There is wisdom in this book, per usual for Gordimer. She understands family and revolution. But I tired of Will's ferocity towards his cheating father, and the father's fierce attachment to his lover. Maybe another time.
Etelä-Afrikan apartheidista ja muutamista ihmissuhteista kertova kirja. Rotuvihasta kertovat kirjat tosin alkavat aina suututtaa, eikä tämä ole poikkeus. Tarina on kuitenkin hyvä ja kerrottu hyvin.
A bit dense and overly dramatic at times - or maybe it's just that I didn't get what was going on. But, high impact by the end, and as always, a unique view into apartheid South Africa. Gordimer's books are all worth reading.
A found this story fascinating on many levels. It makes you question how your image of someone compares with their own self image, and with how society on a whole views them. Amazing story of race, politics, character, and love. A glimpse of South Africa, but underlying themes that could fit anywhere.
Third Nadine Gordimer book and I still can't decide what I think of her. Quote i like though (or paraphrase as book is not here with me where i am for internet: "words, too, are stones." (re South Africa)
wonderfully delicately weaving of love, lust, family, betrayal, and the struggle for freedom in apartheid South Africa. Classic Gordimer.
LR and I picked this book to read something by Nadine Gordimer who won the Nobel prize for literature - it was boring and irrelevant -
Oct 16, 2009
Yam
is currently reading it
i need help on coming up wioth a thesis on this book, but first, what is the over-all theme of it and some quotes that supports it.
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Awarded the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature, commended for being an author "who through her magnificent epic writing has - in the words of Alfred Nobel - been of very great benefit to humanity."
See http://www.contemporarywriters.com/au...
More about Nadine Gordimer...
See http://www.contemporarywriters.com/au...
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