Rating: 
Summary: excellent depiction of apartheid's effect on family in SA
Review: This was an extremely well-written story of the effect of apartheid on one black family in SA. The writing is not fast-reading but well-done. It adds to he impressive oevre dealing with conditions in SA but personalizes the problems there.
Rating: 
Summary: Struggling With Apartheid And Adultery
Review: _My Son's Story_ is told by Will, the son of a former schoolmaster, a light skinned, "colored," anti-Apartheid activist in South Africa. Will and his family live in an uneasy peace amongst white Afrikaans. Will's father is known by his sobriquet, Sonny, by the blacks who admire him and depend upon his leadership against the virulent racism endemic in South Africa in those years. The family has to endure Sonny's intermittant jailings related to his political struggles as well as Sonny's love affair with a white woman, named Hannah, who also shares Sonny's anti-Apartheid commitment. Later on, Sonny's beloved daughter, called Baby by everyone, also becomes involved in the anti-Apartheid movement. The most sympathetic person in the book is Aila, Sonny's quiet, dignified wife and mother to Will, who seemingly inadvertently, but inevitably, surplants Sonny as the political activist in the family. Will's particular closeness to Aila and his resentments toward Sonny are the stuff of Greek tragedy.Unfortunately, Ms. Gordimer's overly convoluted and intellectualized style of writing caused me to often feel distanced from her characters. The result is a novel that frequently falls dead in its tracks. Fortunately, Ms. Gordimer does occasionally write forcefully. It is in these places that her message is communicated clearly and effectively.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Gordimer's best works
Review: _My Son's Story_ is told by Will, the son of a former schoolmaster, a light skinned, "colored," anti-Apartheid activist in South Africa. Will and his family live in an uneasy peace amongst white Afrikaans. Will's father is known by his sobriquet, Sonny, by the blacks who admire him and depend upon his leadership against the virulent racism endemic in South Africa in those years. The family has to endure Sonny's intermittant jailings related to his political struggles as well as Sonny's love affair with a white woman, named Hannah, who also shares Sonny's anti-Apartheid commitment. Later on, Sonny's beloved daughter, called Baby by everyone, also becomes involved in the anti-Apartheid movement. The most sympathetic person in the book is Aila, Sonny's quiet, dignified wife and mother to Will, who seemingly inadvertently, but inevitably, surplants Sonny as the political activist in the family. Will's particular closeness to Aila and his resentments toward Sonny are the stuff of Greek tragedy. Unfortunately, Ms. Gordimer's overly convoluted and intellectualized style of writing caused me to often feel distanced from her characters. The result is a novel that frequently falls dead in its tracks. Fortunately, Ms. Gordimer does occasionally write forcefully. It is in these places that her message is communicated clearly and effectively.
Rating:
Summary: Struggling With Apartheid And Adultery
Review: _My Son's Story_ is told by Will, the son of a former schoolmaster, a light skinned, "colored," anti-Apartheid activist in South Africa. Will and his family live in an uneasy peace amongst white Afrikaans. Will's father is known by his sobriquet, Sonny, by the blacks who admire him and depend upon his leadership against the virulent racism endemic in South Africa in those years. The family has to endure Sonny's intermittant jailings related to his political struggles as well as Sonny's love affair with a white woman, named Hannah, who also shares Sonny's anti-Apartheid commitment. Later on, Sonny's beloved daughter, called Baby by everyone, also becomes involved in the anti-Apartheid movement. The most sympathetic person in the book is Aila, Sonny's quiet, dignified wife and mother to Will, who seemingly inadvertently, but inevitably, surplants Sonny as the political activist in the family. Will's particular closeness to Aila and his resentments toward Sonny are the stuff of Greek tragedy. Unfortunately, Ms. Gordimer's overly convoluted and intellectualized style of writing caused me to often feel distanced from her characters. The result is a novel that frequently falls dead in its tracks. Fortunately, Ms. Gordimer does occasionally write forcefully. It is in these places that her message is communicated clearly and effectively.
|
