South Africa in the late eighties. In an independent high school, the students -- all black -- suspect a white female teacher of supporting the Conservative Party. A group of workers are retrenched. Suddenly, this former haven of peace spiralled into the conflicts, the contradictions, the heroism, the pathos and the absurdity of the times. The young, white, well-meaning principal is engulfed by events and processes that he can hardly understand, let alone control, in both his crumbling marriage and his working life. Surviving on a grim sense of humour, excessive exercise and an intimate, though often uncertain relationship with spirits -- both bottled and celestial -- he tries to come to terms with the world that explodes around and inside himself. The distinguishing feature of this short novel is that it is not a politically correct read and avoids the stereotyping of black and white or good and evil. Bertelsmann powerfully and realistically portrays the various ways in which the resistance politics of the 'old' South Africa affected education during the strife-torn period of the 1980s and early 1990s. The highly effective narrative technique confronts the reader and has a profound emotional impact. Written with compelling authenticity, this is a work of exceptional power and integrity.
Title: So Anyway--
Sub Title: A Novel
Author: Helmut Bertelsmann
Publisher: Jonathan Ball
Year: 2004
Number of pages: 198
ISBN: 9781868421855
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