Betrayals of the Body Politic: The Literary Commitments of Nadine Gordimer

In 1991, Nadine Gordimer was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Infused with the intensity of political conscience and commitment, her writings are invaluable illuminations of life in South Africa during the latter half of the twentieth century.This is the first study to approach Gordimer from an analysis of the major thematic motifs and concers that have characterized her writing throughout her career. Andrew Vogel Ettin sees Gordimer’s work as a tool not of propaganda but of understanding, a means of sharpening our perceptions of one another’s lives. The thoughtful and sympathetic readings offered here, as well as the clarity and accessibility of Ettin’s style, make this book an indispensable addition to the relatively small body of criticism devoted to Gordimer.