Books set in South Africa (14)


1.
A Dry White Season

A Dry White Season by Andre Brink EN

Rating: 4     1 Vote
Description:
As startling and powerful as when first published more than two decades ago, André Brink's classic novel, A Dry White Season, is an unflinching and unforgettable look at racial intolerance, the human condition, and the heavy price of morality. Ben Du Toit is a white schoolteacher in suburban Johannesburg in a dark time of intolerance and state-sanctioned apartheid. A simple, apolitical man, he believes in the essential fairness of the South African government and its policies—until the sudden arrest and subsequent "suicide" of a black janitor from Du Toit's school. Haunted by new questions and... continue
Recommended: 10 Jan 2023

2.
Boyhood

Boyhood by J.M. Coetzee EN

0 Ratings
Recommended: 08 Mar 2023

3.
Coconut

Coconut by Kopano Matlwa EN

Rating: 4     1 Vote
Description:
An important rumination on youth in modern-day South Africa, this haunting debut novel tells the story of two extraordinary young women who have grown up black in white suburbs and must now struggle to find their identities. The rich and pampered Ofilwe has taken her privileged lifestyle for granted, and must confront her swiftly dwindling sense of culture when her soulless world falls apart. Meanwhile, the hip and sassy Fiks is an ambitious go-getter desperate to leave her vicious past behind for the glossy sophistication of city life, but finds Johannesburg to be more complicated and unforgi... continue
Genre
Recommended: 19 Jul 2023

4.

Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton EN

Rating: 5     2 Votes
Description:
The heroine in this actor's tour-de-force is an ordinary middle class English housewife. As she prepares egg and chips for dinner, she ruminates on her life and tells the wall about her husband, her children, her past, and an invitation from a girlfriend to join her on holiday in Greece to search for romance and adventure. Ultimately, Shirley does escape to Greece, has an "adventure" with a local fisherman and decides to stay. This hilariously engaging play was a hit in London and New York, performed by Pauline Collins, who later recreated her role on film garnering an Oscar nomination.

5.
Going to the Mountain

Going to the Mountain : Life Lessons from My Grandfather, Nelson Mandela by Ndaba Mandela EN

0 Ratings
Description:
The first-ever book to tell Nelson Mandela's life through the eyes of the grandson who was raised by him, chronicling Ndaba Mandela's life living with, and learning from, one of the greatest leaders and humanitarians the world has ever known. To the rest of the world, Nelson Mandela was a giant: an anti-apartheid revolutionary, a world-renowned humanitarian, and South Africa's first black president. To Ndaba Mandela, he was simply "Granddad." In Going to the Mountain, Ndaba tells how he came to live with Mandela shortly after he turned eleven--having met each other only once, years before, whe... continue
Recommended: 06 Aug 2023

6.

Long Walk to Freedom : The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela by Nelson Mandela EN

Rating: 5     4 Votes
Description:
The riveting memoirs of the outstanding moral and political leader of our time, A LONG WALK TO FREEDOM brilliantly re-creates the drama of the experiences that helped shape Nelson Mandela's destiny. Emotive, compelling and uplifting, A LONG WALK TO FREEDOM is the exhilarating story of an epic life; a story of hardship, resilience and ultimate triumph told with the clarity and eloquence of a born leader. 'Burns with the luminosity of faith in the invincible nature of human hope and dignity ... Unforgettable' Andre Brink 'Enthralling ... Mandela emulates the few great political leaders such as L... continue

7.

Master Harold...and the boys by Athol Fugard EN

Rating: 4     7 Votes
Description:
Drama set in South Africa during apartheid.
Genre Adult
Recommended: 23 Aug 2023

8.
No Time Like the Present

No Time Like the Present by Nadine Gordimer EN

Rating: 2     1 Vote
Description:
A sharply observed new novel about post-apartheid South Africa from the Nobel Prize winner Nadine Gordimer is one of our most telling contemporary writers. With each new work, she attacks—with a clear-eyed fierceness, a lack of sentimentality, and a deep understanding of the darkest depths of the human soul—her eternal themes: the inextricable link between personal and communal history; the inescapable moral ambiguities of daily life; the political and racial tensions that persist in her homeland, South Africa. And in each new work is fresh evidence of her literary genius: in the sharpness of ... continue
Genre
Recommended: 10 Jul 2023

9.

Present Darkness : A Novel by Malla Nunn EN

Rating: 4.5     6 Votes
Country: Africa / Eswatini flag Swaziland
Description:
A tale set in the harsh world of apartheid South Africa finds Detective Emmanuel Cooper cancelling his holiday plans to learn the truth about his best friend's wrongful murder charge by a high-profile white teen, a case that pits him against violent gangs and corrupt government officials. By the author of A Beautiful Place to Die. Original.
Genre Crime
Recommended: 22 Sep 2023

10.
Sit Down and Listen

Sit Down and Listen: Stories from South Africa by Ellen Kuzwayo EN

Rating: 4     1 Vote
Description:
'For so many years now,' writes the author of this delightful collection, 'we have owned our stories while owning so little else.' Ellen Kuzwayo's autobiography Call Me Woman was an international bestseller. At last we hear her extraordinarily distinct voice again, this time in a series of stories culled from her rich personal experience as community leader, social worker, teacher and black woman in South Africa. These tales explore the complex life of contemporary black South Africa through the traditional form of story-telling. But the stories themselves are no... continue
Recommended: 23 Apr 2023


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