July's People

This 1981 novel by this Pulitzer Prize winning South African novelist was an uncomfortable read. I felt this way and so did the 40 other people in the reading group at my local bookstore. This is not to say that the book was a not good one. In fact, it displayed the skill of the author because this feeling of unease was clearly what she intended. Told from the point of view of a white woman who, with her husband and three children, fled the city as it erupted in violence during an uprising of black Africans, the family is saved by her loyal native servant, July, who has served her family for the past 15 years. He brings her to his village in the countryside to protect them and the family now has to quickly adapt to the way of life for these natives. Clearly, this is a culture shock for them. Their world has now turned upside down. When their car is now being driven by July and the their gun is taken away the power politics of everyone are laid bare. The old order is dying; a new one seems to be replacing it. The woman feels isolated, alone and trapped. Her husband feels emasculated. The book is rife with claustrophobic tension and it seems as if there will be no resolution. The ending is open ended. The resolution is not clear. But the book sure shed a light on a little-known part of the world and life in South Africa. This was a very fine book. I am giving it a high rating. But that doesn't mean that I enjoyed reading it.

Always a pleasure to read Nadine's writing. I read this book years ago and recently reread it. It made for a rather harrowing read especially as I am a South African. I hate watching my beloved country slowly falling apart with the corruption, nepotism, incompetence and blatant disregard for human life which occurs practically all the time. goes on each and every day. I doubt the scenario here would play out just as Ms Gordimer describes it in this book but one never really knows what might or might not happen. In any event I would classify this as a pretty good read, and not for the faint-hearted. ner

I found the way this novel was written made it hard work to read. The content was good, and I truly wanted to give it more stars, but I struggled with reading it. I lived in South Africa during Apartheid, living in Johannesburg. I felt I understood the issues covered by the book very well. I expected to enjoy the book much more than I did.

July's People is a fascinating novella that probes the psychology turmoil of apartheid in South Africa. The gulf between the lives lived by the white and black population is thrown into stark contrast by the role reversal experienced when the white family find themselves dependent on their "house boy". July volunteers to protect them in his village when they are forced to abandon their way of life as war breaks out in the country. Once there the family, having lost everything, is reduced to living as the villagers live, without a shared language or an understanding of their hosts and the everyday existence of their lives. This role reversal reminds me of the film "Swept Away" by the Italian film director Lina Wertmuller where a poor sailor establishes his dominance over a wealthy socialite when they are marooned on a desert island. However, the comparison ends there as "Swept Away" is somewhat of a dark comedy, where there is no humor in July's People. The relationships between the adults are complex and infinitely interesting. I found the spare, dense text a challenge, but well worth the effort. Nadine Gordimer is a favorite author of mine and I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in South Africa and the inequality that was inherent in apartheid. This book will haunt me for a long time.

In an imagined end to apartheid (written before the actual and less apocalyptic end), Nadine Gordimer shows how one white family reacts to being rescued by their servant and brought to his home village. Power shifts, dangers, children who adapt faster than parents, and the gradual losses experienced by the white family form the fabric of this sparely-narrated tale. In retrospect, what Gordimer envisioned did not take place precisely as she envisoned it. But she was right about how power changed. The title is perfect, too. Are July's people the group he rejoins, or are they the white family he brings along?

I'm usually a Gordimer fan, but I couldn't wrap my head around this novella. I found the writing to be convoluted and cryptic, and even re-reading (lots of) passages didn't help me. I just couldn't get in the right frame of mind for this, which is a shame because the plot was interesting and the topic is important.

Classic novel

This book looked like it would be really interesting and it sounded like a different plot than most books about South Africa, but the story doesn't really flow that well and some points of view seem to jump out of nowhere and never return. Also I really didn't like that the ending is a bit anticlimactic.

Woww

Well written and pleasant to read. The book arrived in perfect condition.

a thought provoking book - Nadine Gorimer takes you with her - you can feel and sense the tention

Nadime Gordimer is of course hardly unknown...and with reason. The book achieves an atmospheric, emotionally charged, perspective of a fictive situation where a white family escapes the city threatened with attack by black resistants to apartheid, by being driven by their house boy to his distant 'home'. Seen through the perspective of the white mother, their coherent, but highly subjective view of the 'order of things' is revealed, as is their desire to remain in control... A good read for anybody interested in South Africa specifically, ex-colonies in general, and / or challenges to assumptions of white superiority. Suni, MA student of SOcial Anthropology

It was in good condition. No damages were done to the cover. And it arrived early too.