A World of Strangers [Paperback]

Nadine Gordimer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 1984

Toby Hood, a young Englishman, shuns the politics and the causes his liberal parents passionately support. Living in Johannesburg as a representative of his family's publishing company, Toby moves easily, carelessly, between the complacent wealthy white suburbs and the seething, vibrantly alive black townships. His friends include a wide variety of people, from mining directors to black journalists and musicians, and Toby's colonial-style weekends are often interspersed with clandestine evenings spent in black shanty towns. Toby's friendship with Steven Sithole, a dashing, embittered young African, touches him in ways he never thought possible, and when Steven's own sense of independence from the rules of society leads to tragedy, Toby's life is changed forever.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'An authentic work of art ... Gordimer's characters are universal. It is to the moments of greatest stress, when frail structures of idealism are being tested by shaking realities, that Gordimer gives the form of literature' NEW YORK TIMES --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Nadine Gordimer's many novels include THE LYING DAYS, THE CONSERVATIONIST, joint winner of the Booker Prize, BURGER'S DAUGHTER, JULY'S PEOPLE, MY SON'S STORY, NONE TO ACCOMPANY ME, A GUEST OF HONOUR and THE HOUSE GUN. Her collections of short stories include SOMETHING OUT THERE and JUMP. In 1991 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. She lives in South Africa. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (June 5, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140017046
• ISBN-13: 978-0140017045
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,389,966 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #39 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > African > Central & South African

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How to reconcile a life lived in two worlds..., January 20, 2000

By 

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

This review is from: A World of Strangers (Paperback)

If ever a writer told things as they were, without the trappings of self-righteousness, romantic illusion or overwrought interpretation, it is Gordimer. In A World of Strangers, she is a keen reporter of the minutiae of daily life in 1950s South Africa. Gordimer juxtaposes the dim sameness and shallow veneer of the lavish excess of white South African society life with the restricted and sometimes chaotic lives of the South African blacks. Gordimer contrasts these polarities facilely, telling the story through the eyes of her reluctant protagonist, Toby Hood, an outsider who arrives from England to work in South Africa. Toby slides in and out of the two realities, noticing the differences from the point of view of someone who is never quite on the inside.

In a general sense, Toby embodies but also exposes the hypocrisy of South African society: he recognizes its injustices but accepts them nevertheless. After reading a tourist pamphlet, Toby observes,"I felt as if I were reading of another country, from seas away. But then the country of the tourist pamphlet always is another country, an embarrassing abstraction of the desirable that, thank God, does not exist on this planet, where there are always ants and bad smells and empty Coca-Cola bottles to keep the grubby finger-print of reality upon the beautiful." Toby is conscious of the plastic unreality of the society life but like a tourist chooses not to involve himself deeply in the reality.

Gordimer's lasting impression lies in the voices of her characters. All multidimensional and playing key roles in Toby's life. Anna Louw, an attorney, voices parts of Toby's conscience. "`What had you expected?' she asked with patient interest. With her you felt that your most halting utterance was given full attention .This scrutiny of the cliches of perfunctory communication, the hit-or-miss of words inadequate either to express or conceal, embarrassed me. Like most people, I do not mean half of what I say, and I cannot say half of what I mean; and I do not care to be made self-conscious of this. Much that is to be communicated is not stated; but she was the kind of person who accepts nothing until there has been the struggle to body it forth in words."

By contrast, Toby's lover, Cecil Rowe, a vain and shallow society woman,is the gloss of Toby's life, the one of all too human desires. He cares for her, makes love with her, is part of her life, but even so, she is not really a part of his because there is so much of himself that he cannot convey to her.

Most important in the fabric of Toby's life is an African friend, Steven Sitole. Sitole's refusal to abide by the rules white society dictated for him, inspired Toby to thought. Until something unexpected happens, Toby's thoughtful meanderings are only idle thought. Toby never reevaluated his life and how he lived it until a tragedy forced Toby to see things in a new way.

Toby's exploration of the two sides of life in South Africa as well as the balancing act of reconciling each of them is an exploration well worth reading. Gordimer never strays from the deft and subtle style and analysis which characterizes all of her work.