My Son’s Story | My Son’s Story

At a glance:

Author: Nadine Gordimer
First Published: 1990
Type of Work: Novel
Type of Plot: Social realism
Time of Work: The 1980’s
Setting: South Africa
Genres: Long fiction, Social realism, Political fiction
Subjects: Social action, Teaching or teachers, Family or family life, Politics, Prisoners, Prisons, Racism, Revolutionaries, Blacks, Interracial relationships, Human rights, 1980’s, Adultery, South Africa or South Africans, Apartheid
Locales: Johannesburg, South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa, Rustenburg, South Africa

Sonny, a colored man who admires William Shakespeare. He is a schoolteacher turned social activist. Fighting to end apartheid in South Africa, he is arrested, tried, and jailed for two years. While in jail, he is visited by Hannah, a representative from a human rights organization. Although he has a nearly flawless family with a wife and two children, he begins a prolonged and passionate affair with Hannah. The affair has a profound impact on his family and eventually on his credibility in the freedom movement.

My Son’s Story | My Son’s Story

At a glance:

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