The House Gun

Rating:
Summary: A well-written novel that becomes redundant
Review: Being the first novel by Nadine Gordimer I have read, I was immensely impressed with her writing style, her characterization and the number of ideas she can bring to one subject. I was a little disapointed that the book didn't deal with more of the day-to-day life of the city where the main characters lived, and I felt that the focus on the inner lives on the parents and their pain, became redundant after a while. The characterization of the former exiled black lawyer was brilliant. This would be a stellar performance for a film. He's a complicated, changing character and even at the end of the novel it is difficult to be certain what to exactly make of him. All in all I found the ending kind of bland. The utopian promise was wishful thinking and the inclusion of the son (the agressor) thoughts seemed out of place when we know so little of through most of the novel. It's a great introduction to Gordimer's work, but I'm going to investigate her earlier, aparthaid period novels to get a better sense of what she actually writes.

Rating:
Summary: too much work
Review: I'm an avid reader and I found this book to be far too much work to read. The writing style is punishing - some combination of observation/conversation/emotion that is all strung together inside of paragraphs that require the reader to re-read them in order to follow the meaning. Yes, there is an interesting plot here but it is largely overshadowed by the author's writing style. As the parents try to cope with the knowledge that their son has committed a murder they stumble along wrapped in cotton wool. I found myself wanting to shake some sense of reality into them - force them into some reaction - which further increased my frustration with this book.

If you're still interested in reading The House Gun - I'd suggest a visit to the library.

Rating:
Summary: The House Gun is No Misfire
Review: I'm baffled by the negative reviews this book has garnered here; I suppose it's more of a reaction to Gordimer's subject matter than to her style or content. People are more comfortable with a revolutionary spouting rhetoric that they agree with: if you, as a reader, are still wrapping your brain around the reality of South Africa as it was, Gordimer's earlier works will ring more true with you. If, however, you are interested in the legacy of Apartheid as it is, The House Gun will resonate more. The House Gun, so to speak, will only fire in the direction in which you point it.

As with all Gordimer works, the pace is slow and deliberately so, the words carefully chosen not to describe action but to allow the reader into the minds and souls of people who have lived in circumstances of which the majority of us can hardly conceive. The plot, intriguing though it is, is really secondary to the introspection taken on by each of the accused murderer's parents; the most pressing question, that of choosing to support your child with whatever means you have at your disposal (financial, spiritual, intellectual, emotional)in the face of your indecision as to whether or not you believe his version of events (or if any version of events would be acceptable). If your child murdered someone else, how would you feel? What would you do? Is the social legacy of apartheid going to color your beliefs; what happens when you are "open-minded" (no one ever really is), and your child commits a race crime? Do you use the race card to exonerate him, even when you are repulsed by his choice and behavior? And while the stress of saving your child from what he or she deserves in the course of law taps all of your inner resources, what happens to your marriage, your career, your friendships, your faith? Do you question all of your motives, all of your beliefs, all of your emotions?

I believe that you do. Every crisis, by nature, requires self-examination. It is not always pretty, or easy to accept, what you find at the end of your questioning. Gordimer, here, takes this family's condition, in microcosm, to expose South Africa's current quandary, many years after the abolition of Apartheid. Where do they stand as a society? What do they believe? What is excusable, what is justifiable? Who pays for what has been done, and how? Where will they go? What will be possible? No one knows, and maybe that's too unsettling for most.

Rating:
Summary: Great Alternative to a Sleeping Pill
Review: it is not worth the try... i am not going to write anything more nor am i going to argue with pseudo intellectuals who find it intriguing because of a new? writing style... It is a completely inhuman book. Scepanovic wrote differently and hardly maybe for some people but in the end what emerged was pure brilliance not the void that dominates this book. The characters are totally boring. sorry

Rating:
Summary: Great Alternative to a Sleeping Pill
Review: This book is soporific. I fell asleep every time I picked it up. The opportunity for a meaningful and dynamic book was there but the promise was never kept. Boring! It is unlikely that I will read anything else by this author. Give it to someone you don't like very much.

Rating:
Summary: BORING
Review: This is one of the worst books I've ever forced myself to read: academic writing style, feeble plot, very forced. There is no humour or humanity in this book. A complete waste of a good tree.