- Paperback: 294 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books (Feb 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140278206
- ISBN-13: 978-0140278200
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 13.1 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,313,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The House Gun
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
"There is no privacy more inviolable than that of the prisoner. To visualise that cell in which he is thinking, to reach what he alone knows; that is a blank in the dark."
Privileged whites in post-apartheid South Africa, Harald and Claudia Lindgard have managed to live the better part of 50 years without ever confronting the deepest shadows in their culture or in their own souls. Though they conceive of themselves as liberal-minded, neither has ever taken any active political stand; neither has ever been in any black person's home. Harald sits on the board of an insurance company; Claudia is a compassionate doctor. Neither of them has ever been inside a courtroom before; neither has ever been inside a prison. When their architect-son Duncan is arrested for murder, both know that the charge is preposterous. But Duncan himself fails to deny his guilt and his parents are brought by a harsh and ungainly process to accept the possibility that he has committed an unthinkable crime.
Nadine Gordimer's The House Gun is a gravely sustained exploration of their long-delayed but necessary descent into an intimate acquaintance with the culture of violence that surrounds them and that is "the common hell of all who are associated with it." The novel is a mystery, but not in the usual sense of the whodunit. Here the question of who quickly gives way to why and thence to other, still deeper quandaries of culpability, both immediate and ultimate. The enigmatic Duncan becomes a dark mirror in which his stunned parents must desperately grope for a new vision of themselves and their world--a vision that will not shatter, as their old one has, under a single blow from reality.
Gordimer's prose is mannered and severe; humour is rare or absent. "As the couple emerge into the foyer of the courts, vast and lofty cathedral echoing with the susurration of its different kind of supplicants gathered there, Claudia suddenly breaks away, disappearing towards the sign indicating toilets. Harald waits for her among these people patient in trouble, no choice to be otherwise, for them, he is one of them, the wives, husbands, fathers, lovers, children of forgers, thieves and murderers." This difficult exposition is the reader's own dark mirror, where we as spectators fumble from one dubious explanation to the next--a twisted reflection always reminding us that, underlying this social tragedy, there is a mystery play in the old sense, and an unanswerable question: What is a human being? Paragraph after paragraph, the reader is led into deeper and deeper perceptions of the sensibilities and the dilemmas of these characters--into a quiet intimacy with their trouble that is sometimes acutely uncomfortable, but which pays off richly in an ending that reconciles our sense of the horror of violence with our desire to believe in the value of each life. --Daniel Hintzsche --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Gripping. So well written that it draws you into itself like a dream. I urge you to read it' Independent
--This text refers to an alternate
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
The book is set in post-Apartheit South Africa of the 1990's. It focuses on a professional, white, middle-class couple and their attempt to come to terms with their son being accused of murder. But be warned, little actually happens and the entire plot could be summarized in one paragraph.
My main problem with this book is the language and style of writing. For me, reading the book felt like trying to run through molasses - the language is sticky, labouring and dense. I was exhausted after every page. Because the language is so heavy and distancing, I never felt a connection with the book's characters and struggled to get into the book (let alone finish it). I do think however that the feeling of distance and alienation the language created was very deliberate on the author's part, rather than a stylistic short-coming.
On one level the author's writing reminded me a little bit of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's writing - like Marquez, Nadine Gordimer is clearly a literary genius, who thinks through every word she uses and has a phenomenal understanding of language. However, Marquez's books manage to grab me despite the difficult language, whereas Gordimer's The House Gun did not.
Perhaps it sounds like a bit of a contradiction, but despite not enjoying the book whilst I was reading it, I was actually happy to have read it by the time I finished and felt I had learned something. For example, there are a lot of underlying references to South African politics and society, the black-white and rich-poor divide. I found watching the movie Tsotsi prior to reading this book really helpful as it gave me some background knowledge to life in modern South Africa.
Overall, this book had the potential to be great, but ended up being a bit of a disappointment instead. To anyone thinking about this book my advice would be: Do read a book by this author, as she is a good writer, but don't go for The House Gun.
My main problem with this book is the language and style of writing. For me, reading the book felt like trying to run through molasses - the language is sticky, labouring and dense. I was exhausted after every page. Because the language is so heavy and distancing, I never felt a connection with the book's characters and struggled to get into the book (let alone finish it). I do think however that the feeling of distance and alienation the language created was very deliberate on the author's part, rather than a stylistic short-coming.
On one level the author's writing reminded me a little bit of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's writing - like Marquez, Nadine Gordimer is clearly a literary genius, who thinks through every word she uses and has a phenomenal understanding of language. However, Marquez's books manage to grab me despite the difficult language, whereas Gordimer's The House Gun did not.
Perhaps it sounds like a bit of a contradiction, but despite not enjoying the book whilst I was reading it, I was actually happy to have read it by the time I finished and felt I had learned something. For example, there are a lot of underlying references to South African politics and society, the black-white and rich-poor divide. I found watching the movie Tsotsi prior to reading this book really helpful as it gave me some background knowledge to life in modern South Africa.
Overall, this book had the potential to be great, but ended up being a bit of a disappointment instead. To anyone thinking about this book my advice would be: Do read a book by this author, as she is a good writer, but don't go for The House Gun.
Format:Paperback
Although the difficult style was hard to come to terms with over the course of the first few chapters, this book IS worth sticking with until the end.
Amid the undertones of the racial tensions of post Aparteid South Africa, this book asks the reader to consider what it is that can drive an 'ordinary' man to murder. It expresses with great depth the wrangling emotions of Duncan's parents and how they try to come to terms and explain their son's action. It also explres the relationship between Duncan's (white, middle class) parents and his (black, successful) lawyer.
As the book progresses, the layers of the accused's life are exquisitely peeled away, yet at the same time the reader is left uncertain as to whether they would act differently in the same circumstances. The book ultimately blurs boundaries and asks the reader to consider what is just and unjust, right or wrong.
The book climaxes with the tense murder trial, at which point it is impossible to put the book down.
A great read if you can overcome the unusual grammatical style.
Amid the undertones of the racial tensions of post Aparteid South Africa, this book asks the reader to consider what it is that can drive an 'ordinary' man to murder. It expresses with great depth the wrangling emotions of Duncan's parents and how they try to come to terms and explain their son's action. It also explres the relationship between Duncan's (white, middle class) parents and his (black, successful) lawyer.
As the book progresses, the layers of the accused's life are exquisitely peeled away, yet at the same time the reader is left uncertain as to whether they would act differently in the same circumstances. The book ultimately blurs boundaries and asks the reader to consider what is just and unjust, right or wrong.
The book climaxes with the tense murder trial, at which point it is impossible to put the book down.
A great read if you can overcome the unusual grammatical style.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I thought this was an excellent book. The descriptions of Harald and Claudia's inner turmoil was such that you felt all of their emotions: shock; disbelief; the minor hopes and resignations.
I loved the way that it is seen from only their point of view- including their blind spots to every other characters actions. It is my first Nadine Gordimer book- and I will be buying more.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A missed opportunity
I expected this to be much better than it was. Nadine Gordimer has a great reputation and the idea is good but I can't say that I really liked it. Read more
Published on 27 July 2002
Disappointing
After having heard so many good things about Nadine Gordimer I was looking forward to reading The House Gun. Read more
Published on 21 Oct 2001
Hard Going
I'm sorry to say I didn't enjoy this book! I personally didn't like the style of writing and I did not feel interested in the characters and infact gave up reading the book half... Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2001
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