Burger's Daughter [Paperback]

Nadine Gordimer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 20, 1980

In South Africa, where Blacks and whites are caught in the winds of change, a young woman tries to uphold the radical heritage she received from her martyred parents while carving out a sense of self.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Rosa Burger grew up in a home under constant surveillance by the South African government. Her parents were detained for their political beliefs; her father died in prison, and her mother, whose health suffered from her time in jail, eventually dies. Rosa, a white South African in her early twenties, is left the only surviving member of her family. Yet even after her parents' deaths, the history of their anti-apartheid beliefs and practices have a daily impact on her life: it seems everyone has expectations of her and the government is still watching. A quiet, private person, Rosa constantly searches her memories to find herself, to grasp this heritage that weighs her down. Over a period of several years Rosa comes to understand the impact of the South African political climate on her and how she became who she is. Take time to read this novel; the political realities it describes are complicated. The narrative style varies from straightforward storytelling to Rosa's most personal thoughts. In Burger's Daughter, Nobel Prize-winner Nadine Gordimer takes a situation most read about in newspapers and makes it real, creating a memorable story of coming to terms with circumstances over which we have little control, yet which directly affect our lives. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Holly Smith

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); 21st edition (November 20, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140055932
• ISBN-13: 978-0140055931
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finding one's own voice, September 12, 2000

By 

EriKa "E" (Iceland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burger's Daughter (Paperback)

I have probably by now read almost everything Gordimer has written in her long and prolific career. I have defended her writing to those who have only dabbled in one or two works and form opinions. Gordimer's works are much more complex than one can dissect in one reading of a particularly book or in a reading of only one of her books.

Burger's Daughter was surprising, as all of Gordimer's works are. Gordimer has mastered the art of voice and gives her characters complex lives and thoughts without resorting to or relying on cliché or expectation. In Burger's Daughter, the protagonist lives a life that was created for her before she was even born. Her father's political activism created circumstances into which she would be born and in which she would be expected to live, much as royalty is born and expected to follow in the monarchy's traditions.

The book traces Burger's daughter through her literal and figurative explorations to find her own voice, which can be the most difficult thing one can do in life, particularly when overshadowed by the voices of everyone around you. This work is quite subtle and although surprising (only because I am always amazed that someone has such talent for breathing life into a page) it is very typical Gordimer. Well worth the time to read it.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A challenging but ultimately rewarding novel, April 24, 2000

By 

"mattbeckett" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burger's Daughter (Paperback)

Nadine Gordimer's prose can be difficult to follow at the initial read, but is full of thought-provoking allusions and is a book you will definitely think about for a long time. In this tale, Burger represents the man who was Nelson Mandela's lawyer in apartheid South Africa. Gordimer follows Burger's daughter as she copes with ties to her homeland, the complicated issue of white and black in South Africa, and with both the persecution and expectations she faces because of her name. Highly recommended!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From Berstein to Burger, June 12, 2011

By 

JSmalls - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burger's Daughter (Paperback)

I have found that many women (including my wife) hate this book with a passion. Initially, I also disliked it because the sentences are so long and the plot just plods along aimlessly. However, after living and working in South Africa and understanding the lives of liberation heroes such as Rusty and Hilda Bernstein, I actually have great respect and admiration for this work. "The Conservationist" is still Gordimer's best long fiction. However, this has to be a close second despite its many often-justifiable criticisms.