Book description
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. '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 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.
