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'In lean yet lyrical prose...Fugard uncannily insinuates himself into the skins of the oppressed majority and articulates its rage and misery and hope.' New York Times Book Review
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Tsotsi is an angry young gang leader in the South African township of Sophiatown. A man without a past, he exists only to kill and steal. But one night, in a moonlit grove of bluegum trees, a woman he attempts to rape forces a shoebox into his arms. The box contains a baby, and his life is inexorably changed. He begins to remember his childhood, to rediscover himself and his capacity for love. Turned into an Oscar-winning movie in 2006, Tsotsi's raw power and rare humanity show how decency and compassion can survive against the odds.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Fugard's novel covers just over three days in the life of "Tsotsi", a township gang-leader in Apartheid-era South Africa, commencing with the evening a baby is thrust upon him. What follows is both a portrait of the precarious and dangerous nature of township life and a meditation on how hopes are dashed and lives irreparably damaged.
This is a relatively short novel, written in easy story segments. Fugard writes with both sympathy and quiet outrage for the fates of his characters. No one is dismissed or judged no matter how repulsive their fate or lifestyle. What makes this a compelling read is the attempt to see beyond appearances, to explain fates, to understand choices. Ultimately though, this is also what keeps this a four-star not a five-star novel. Tsotsi is a powerful character, lost in his dark, violent world. The baby triggers memories of a destroyed childhood, the baby offers redemption and yet there is something a little too obvious with this, something that jars: The baby is there in spirit rather than substance. The baby is the least real of all the characters (even the other baby) with no back-story or resolution and in the context of this novel, this inconsistency may irk you too. That said, this remains a worthwhile read.
This is a relatively short novel, written in easy story segments. Fugard writes with both sympathy and quiet outrage for the fates of his characters. No one is dismissed or judged no matter how repulsive their fate or lifestyle. What makes this a compelling read is the attempt to see beyond appearances, to explain fates, to understand choices. Ultimately though, this is also what keeps this a four-star not a five-star novel. Tsotsi is a powerful character, lost in his dark, violent world. The baby triggers memories of a destroyed childhood, the baby offers redemption and yet there is something a little too obvious with this, something that jars: The baby is there in spirit rather than substance. The baby is the least real of all the characters (even the other baby) with no back-story or resolution and in the context of this novel, this inconsistency may irk you too. That said, this remains a worthwhile read.
Format:Paperback
This novel is on the reading lists for some GCSE English Literature courses. With its hard-hitting themes (violence, abuse) and, at first, fiercely unsympathetic main character, it may seem an odd choice. But Fugard weaves a complex tale of loss and redemption which, in the end, is vivid and surprising. A challenging, exciting read which should lead to some compelling discussions. I now want to see the film that was based on it.
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In a razzia by the South-African police looking for illegal immigrants, the main character of this book, a 10 year old, looses 'the big, gentle, warm, protective mother behind whom he had hidden and escaped from the whole world of a child's fear.'
From now on, he stays defenseless in a strange labyrinth of laws, 'loneliness, being the only person in the world ... He learnt the lesson of hunger ... He learnt to watch for the weakness of sympathy or compassion for others weaker than yourself, like discovering how never to feel the pain you inflicted. He had no use for memories ... There was only the present, that continuous moment carrying him forward without question of regret.'
He becomes a tsotsi, a wild, brutally killing animal, always looking around for easy targets (the painted and the cripple): 'There was no conflict. It wasn't a question of should I, or shouldn't I. He was resigned to the inevitable, watching it unfold as doctors would the last stages of a disease in a patient who is beyond help.'
But one day, his wild mind is shaken when he meets a woman with a child. He is confronted with the moral problem of 'decency' as one of his gang members said.
Athol Fugard draws a profoundly moving and dramatic picture of a child gang in a dark and life threatening city. The treatment of the variations on the theme of absence - mother, father, friends, moral conscience, life - is not less than masterful.
This book is a real masterpiece.
From now on, he stays defenseless in a strange labyrinth of laws, 'loneliness, being the only person in the world ... He learnt the lesson of hunger ... He learnt to watch for the weakness of sympathy or compassion for others weaker than yourself, like discovering how never to feel the pain you inflicted. He had no use for memories ... There was only the present, that continuous moment carrying him forward without question of regret.'
He becomes a tsotsi, a wild, brutally killing animal, always looking around for easy targets (the painted and the cripple): 'There was no conflict. It wasn't a question of should I, or shouldn't I. He was resigned to the inevitable, watching it unfold as doctors would the last stages of a disease in a patient who is beyond help.'
But one day, his wild mind is shaken when he meets a woman with a child. He is confronted with the moral problem of 'decency' as one of his gang members said.
Athol Fugard draws a profoundly moving and dramatic picture of a child gang in a dark and life threatening city. The treatment of the variations on the theme of absence - mother, father, friends, moral conscience, life - is not less than masterful.
This book is a real masterpiece.
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