Read about the other entries on the list.The Conservationist (1974)
Gordimer was joint winner of the Booker prize for this novel, which exposes the delusions of apartheid through the character of Mehring, a rich white businessman turned dilettante farmer, who is confronted with an unidentified corpse on his land. Mehring's certainty that he always does "the right thing" is undermined by a narrative that constantly undercuts his smug conservatism. Considering the novel as a contender for the Best of Booker prize, Sam Jordison wrote: "The intensity of this writing requires serious concentration, especially when coupled with an impressionistic narrative that skips backwards and forwards over time and situates us right inside Mehring's head – an increasingly unpleasant place to be. It's hard work – but is correspondingly effective."
--Marshal Zeringue
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