Sport of Nature [Paperback]

nadine Gordimer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 24, 1988

This novel is about Hellela, a Jewish South African girl abandoned by her parents. Stretching from the turbulent 1960s this book goes from the beaches of West Africa to the slums of London, and from Washington to the presidential palace of an African nation.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gordimer weaves together the tale of the life of Hillela, a South African Jew, with a history of modern South Africa since the 1950s. PW stated that this ninth novel of Gordimer's "could well be considered her masterpiece."
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Gordimer achieves a remarkable imaginative integration of private and public experience in this powerful novel, which traces the life of a beautiful South African woman from childhood to early middle age. Born to white privilege but abandoned by her mother, who bequeaths her a rich sexuality; reared by two aunts, who embody the opposing worlds of material comfort and social consciousness; on her own by 17, and soon immersed in the first of a series of relationships whose direction no one could have predictedalways Hillela is passionately grounded in her own feelings as she becomes increasingly involved in the black struggle, nationally and internationally. Yet she remains elusive, transcending simple definition even as her story, shaped by intense moral concerns, reaches a climax of stunning grandeur. A brilliant, engrossing noveland highly recommended. BOMC dual main selection.Elise Chase, Forbes Lib., Northampton, Mass.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam~trade (November 24, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140103295
• ISBN-13: 978-0140103298
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,477,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars haunting, July 18, 2003

By 

Chutes (East Brunswick, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Sport of Nature (Hardcover)

This is a richly written book. Gordimer handles the character in an interesting way--one of the reviewers said that she couldn't relate to the character, and I think that is because Gordimer is presenting her as someone who is puzzling to other people, a "sport" or new species. You don't get into the heroine's head so much as you try to figure out her mysteries. Of course, that means Gordimer is giving the reader the role of someone from the ordinary world who isn't quite as evolved sexually or politically as her heroine. I found the heroine haunting because of her self possession, her practically unselfconscious drive to grow that freed her of much of the guilt and fear of isolation that keep most of us from doing the right things.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Look beyond normal reading, December 4, 2002

By 

Jeanette Burch (Kincardine Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sport of Nature (Transaction Large Print Books) (Hardcover)

I do not agree with the substandard reviews of this book. If you are interested in South Africa don't be afraid of a more difficult read and pick up this book. It is a little difficult to get into but once you get used to Gordimer's writing style, anyone will enjoy it. Hillela is a very interesting character who one can not underestimate. I like her spirit, and I truely think she has a complete change of character by the end of the story.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing, but just couldn't relate to main character, June 10, 2000

By 

Maureen - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Sport of Nature (Paperback)

I have never read Nadine Gordimer before, but when I saw 2 collections of her works at 2 of my friends' houses (and rave reviews) I got curious. This book is a thickly textured look at 3 sisters and their divurgent lives and the daughter of 1 who is exposed to all 3 and then further divurges into the racial movements of 70's South Africa. Gordimer's use of setting is really good. I found particularly interesting the family of the most politically oriented sister, Pauline and her husband Joe and children where the domestic lives interleave with the sometimes violent politial terrain. The main character, Hillela, however, I found to be less than heroic -- she simply seemed to be a sensual being who floated in and out of various beds and even the tragedy which befalls her later in the story doesn't REALLY seem to have changed her - she seems like the same person on page 1 as on page 300, although the narrative implies otherwise. For a book released in the 70's I'm sure that this was a revelation, although here in the new millenium it seems dated.Despite all this, I think the author is terrifically talented in her ability to convey sensuality, to provoke thought, and to establish setting and mood. There were some passages of the book that are among the best I've read anywhere.