Disgrace
About the book
A professor's downfall and his relationship with his daughter expose violence and moral conflict in post-apartheid South Africa.
Africa · A READING GUIDE
South Africa
Alan Paton presents a family tragedy rooted in racial injustice. Nadine Gordimer and J. M. Coetzee examine power, complicity and fragile relationships during apartheid and its aftermath. Zakes Mda brings the everyday transition into dialogue with the long memory of Xhosa history. Damon Galgut’s The Promise traces an unresolved family debt to a Black employee through successive funerals.
WHERE TO START
- DisgraceJ. M. Coetzee
- July’s PeopleNadine Gordimer
- Cry, the Beloved CountryAlan Paton
Books to begin with
An editorial selection · not rankedNo matches. Try another language or search term.
Waiting for the Barbarians
About the book
An official on an imperial frontier begins to question violence against supposed enemies.
Life and Times of Michael K
About the book
A gardener travels with his ailing mother through a country at war.
July’s People
About the book
A white family fleeing revolution shelters in their servant’s village, reversing established dependencies.
Burger’s Daughter
About the book
An anti-apartheid activist’s daughter seeks a life of her own amid her father’s political legacy.
Cry, the Beloved Country
About the book
A clergyman searching for his son in Johannesburg confronts the consequences of racial injustice.
Ways of Dying
About the book
Professional mourner Toloki seeks connection and dignity amid the violence of political transition.
The Heart of Redness
About the book
A contemporary dispute over village development intertwines with memories of the nineteenth-century Xhosa cattle-killing movement.
Obietnica
About the book
Successive funerals in the Swart family expose an unfulfilled promise to a Black employee.
Original title: The Promise
In a Strange Room
About the book
A man’s three journeys become a study of loneliness, desire and relationships.
The Good Doctor
About the book
Two doctors in a rural hospital face the hopes and disappointments of post-apartheid society.
Context and sources
Sources on authors and their connections to this country. Specific edition details appear beside each book. Polish and English originals are not labelled as translations.
Your next destination
Africa · Reading guide
Sudan
7 selected books
English
Africa · Reading guide
Tanzania
7 selected books
EnglishPolish
Africa · Reading guide
Tunisia
7 selected books
English