Burger's Daughter
5 journalers for this copy...
Burger’s Daughter is a novel that explores the impossibility and the necessity of a private life. In South Africa in the late 1960s and 1970s, private life is a luxury, belonging only to those whites who can blind themselves to the fact that their “normality” is underpinned by other peoples’ suffering. For Rosa Burger, a private life comes also to be a necessity, a strategy for survival after the death of her father in prison, a means whereby she can resist the absorption of herself into his reputation and his South Africa.
Both of Rosa’s parents were Afrikaner Marxists, freedom fighters, figures for whom politics was no respecter of the thin line demarcating the supposed sanctity of the private domain. By the novel’s end, Rosa Burger is also in prison. But in the defeat of her painful attempt to carve out a life of her own there is a strange liberation.
Gordimer articulates a critique of what passes for “freedom” through the anguish of a white woman trapped in a past not of her making. The untold histories interlaced with the story of her struggle are the stories of migrant miners, factory workers, homeless servants, and landless peasants. This corrodes sympathy, leaving the reader no choice but to read on, to be glad this novel was written, and to regret the need for it to be written. — Patricia McManus in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
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. — Holly Smith in 500 Great Books by Women
Both of Rosa’s parents were Afrikaner Marxists, freedom fighters, figures for whom politics was no respecter of the thin line demarcating the supposed sanctity of the private domain. By the novel’s end, Rosa Burger is also in prison. But in the defeat of her painful attempt to carve out a life of her own there is a strange liberation.
Gordimer articulates a critique of what passes for “freedom” through the anguish of a white woman trapped in a past not of her making. The untold histories interlaced with the story of her struggle are the stories of migrant miners, factory workers, homeless servants, and landless peasants. This corrodes sympathy, leaving the reader no choice but to read on, to be glad this novel was written, and to regret the need for it to be written. — Patricia McManus in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die
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. — Holly Smith in 500 Great Books by Women
Thanks so much for your donation Vasha!
This book is now part of the 1001-library. If you want to take this book from the library but don't know how to proceed, please refer to the library bookshelf.
Reserved to send to the Netherlands in an m-bag.
Added to a box of books mailed to Europe.
This book travelled in a 1001-book box all the way from the US to Europe, to go to its next reader.
LiniP requested it and it'll continue its journey shortly with the two other books, since I already have her address.
LiniP requested it and it'll continue its journey shortly with the two other books, since I already have her address.
Journal Entry 6 by Boekentrol at Leeuwarden, Fryslân (Friesland) Netherlands on Thursday, May 12, 2011
Released 13 yrs ago (5/12/2011 UTC) at Leeuwarden, Fryslân (Friesland) Netherlands
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
Out of Vasha's box, today it continues its journey to a new reader: LiniP.
I sent this book out with two others, I hope they arrive safely and soon.
I wish you lots of reading pleasure & Happy BookCrossing!
I sent this book out with two others, I hope they arrive safely and soon.
I wish you lots of reading pleasure & Happy BookCrossing!
The book arrived today. Thank you Vasha and Totje2 for sending the book across the ocean and Europe.
Journal Entry 8 by LiniP at Schwäbisch Hall, Baden-Württemberg Germany on Thursday, February 9, 2012
I have started reading the book and it will next travel to Frutz who has asked for it in the 1001-EU-VBB.
Edit: 14/02/2012: I have finished reading the book and am actually divided in what to think about it. I liked the story of what was happening in South Africa but was a little confused about some of the narrative perspectives and jumps in time. The most moving part was when she meets Baasie again. I am glad I read the book. It is off to frutz tomorrow.
Edit: 14/02/2012: I have finished reading the book and am actually divided in what to think about it. I liked the story of what was happening in South Africa but was a little confused about some of the narrative perspectives and jumps in time. The most moving part was when she meets Baasie again. I am glad I read the book. It is off to frutz tomorrow.
The book is off to frutz who chose the book as part of the EU-1001-VBB. Enjoy reading the book.
Journal Entry 10 by frutz at Mersch / Miersch, Kanton Mersch Luxembourg on Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Arrived today, thank you LiniP for sending it to me!
