July's People

Posted on | March 5, 2010 | 19 Comments

July’s People by Nadine Gordimer, her imagined end to apartheid through civil war, was banned in South Africa after its publication in 1981; her predicted end was a violent revolution in which blacks are killing whites in order to regain control of the country and overturn the system of racial segregation. Bam and Maureen Smales, a liberal white South African couple, and their three children, flee Johannesburg with the aid of their loyal black servant, July, who hides them in his village among his “people” (the Smales are also his people and the title is ambiguous in whom it refers to and as July’s loyalties to both his kin, his Chief and his employers are tested). The Smales family, under the cover of forest trees, live in a mud hut that belongs to July’s mother and attempt to adjust to the new life that has been enforced upon them, whilst being thankful that they have life.

The dynamic between the Smales and July has shifted; they owe him their lives (it was July’s idea to bring them to his home) and they depend on him for protection and for survival. Gordimer examines the power relations between her characters and the ambiguities that lie therein; July, Bam and Maureen struggle with their pre-existing master/servant roles and their new roles, which are never fully certain. The issue of control and who now possesses and exerts it, who is subservient to whom, is the crux of the novel and plays out in complex ways, particularly between Maureen and July; Maureen and Bam also change within their relationship with the dynamics of their marriage altered irrevocably in such close quarters.

In less than 200 pages, Gordimer’s take on the deteriorating situation of apartheid (in its imagined end) is immensely powerful. The narrative is tense and claustrophobic, conveying the volatile situation and the close living quarters. The first chapter (five pages) was disorientating as I attempted to grasp Gordimer’s style; the interior monologues and the dialogue -mostly between July and Maureen or Maureen and Bam- that is a dichotomy of dialogue but a blending of speech on which you have to concentrate to ascertain who is speaking (there are no quotation marks or he said/she said pronoun indicators; the speaker even switches mid-line) takes some adapting to but once you are in the thick of it, you’re there, just like the protagonists. The blending of English and Afrikaans is effective as it highlights the frustration between different, often untranslatable, languages and cultures as well as the power struggles between the speakers. Gordimer’s characterisation is nuanced with the personalities of the three main figures rendered through their words and actions; their circumstances expose them and their true thoughts.

The content quickly devolves to the animalistic and the primitive with body odours and secretions, hunting and sex described in their raw and unrefined states; the Smales adapt to their new surroundings and their instinct is to survive. I found the rudimentary, functional events compelling to read as what fascinated me was the gradual break-down of white power in the far removed, non-habitual surroundings and the break-down of masculine power in the domestic sphere, as Bam and Maureen fail to cope with a new reality forced upon them. Of course race is central to the changes in power, both politically and domestically, and Gordimer envisages wonderfully the struggle for control in people used to having it and those to whom the concept is new.

A favourite passage:

The heavy cadences surrounded her; the earth was fading and a thin, far radiance from the moon was faintly pinkening parachute-silk hazes stretched over the sky. She understood although she knew no word. Understood everything: what he had to be, how she had covered up to herself for him, in order for him to be her idea of him. But for himself–to be intelligent, honest, dignified for her was nothing; his measure as a man was taken elsewhere and by others. She was not his mother, his wife, his sister, his friend, his people.

Comments

19 Responses to “July's People”

Simon (Savidge Reads)
March 5th, 2010 @ 10:43 am

Wonderful thoughts Claire, am sorry we didnt see you at the book group to discuss it as it was a brilliant discussion which brought up lots of random discussions about reading aswell as the book. Hopefully see you at the next one!
Verity
March 5th, 2010 @ 12:32 pm

It’s interesting to read this having heard also about it from Simon’s blog.

I definitely must get round to readng the Gordimer VMCs before too long.
Jackie (Farm Lane Books)
March 5th, 2010 @ 1:02 pm

Fantastic review! I didn’t realise it was her prediction of the future – that makes the book make a lot more sense.
Aarti
March 5th, 2010 @ 4:53 pm

Wow, this sounds really powerful and moving. I love that she plays on the juxtaposition of power through the master/servant role. Will definitely look into this one!
kimbofo
March 5th, 2010 @ 7:58 pm

Great review, Claire. You would have enjoyed the book group discussion, as we thrashed so many of the issues you raise here.

I like the notion that Gordimer’s emphasis on sex, odour etc was a reflection of the Smales becoming more animalistic as they adapted to their new environs.

And yes, the whole atmosphere is really claustrophic, isn’t it? Which is totally at odds with the South African landscape of wide open plains.
bybee
March 6th, 2010 @ 7:52 am

Oh, I just realized that I have this on my TBR shelf!
Stujallen
March 6th, 2010 @ 4:40 pm

not read any of her books ,must do at some point ,this sounds quite good and a short book to start with .i ve bryten bretyenbach on tbr ,he is another south african/afrikaans writer
The Book Shelf Project
March 6th, 2010 @ 8:11 pm

Hi Claire,

This sounds fascinating- it really reminds me of one of Andre Brink’s novels, Rumours of Rain.

If you haven’t read it, I would thoroughly recommend it.

x
Mel u
March 6th, 2010 @ 11:01 pm

I read my first Gordimer not too long ago, My Son’s Story-I liked it a lot and since then have been looking for -your excellent review might have helped me decide
Andygrrrl
March 7th, 2010 @ 3:51 pm

Reading your review has clarified a few things for me—I had to read July’s People in high school, and while it’s always stayed with me (especially the ending), it has kind of a surreal, dreamlike quality for me. And no wonder! I don’t know what my school was thinking, assigning something as culturally specific as July’s People to a bunch of Midwestern Catholic school girls who knew nothing about South Africa or apartheid. I had no cultural or historical context for the book, so no wonder I found it surreal!

But it’s a indication of Gordimer’s brilliant writing that it’s always stuck in my mind, even when I didn’t have any idea what it was about.
Colleen (Books in the City)
March 7th, 2010 @ 3:53 pm

Thanks for the review- I am putting this on my TBR now!
Eva
March 7th, 2010 @ 7:00 pm

I tried to read A Sport of Nature two years ago, and I was SO bored and in SO much pain I finally gave up. But I try to always give authors a second try, so maybe I should pick up July’s People!
Novel Insights
March 8th, 2010 @ 3:51 pm

What a great review of this Claire! I think you’ve made some great points here and really got into the novel. I got off on the wrong foot a bit with Gordimer’s writing style but I was more convinced by the end of our group discussion.
Bellezza
March 9th, 2010 @ 1:31 am

Totally off subject here, so please forgive me, but I want to talk about Persephone week. Simon mentioned it a bit ago on his blog, I think it was he!, and I’ve wanted to know when it would begin so I’m glad you posted the button on your sidebar. And, as you probably know, Persephone is giving away a free classic book when you buy two (details on my latest post). So, woo hoo Persephone! I can’t wait for your event!
Paperback Reader
March 9th, 2010 @ 2:02 pm

Simon, it certainly sounds as if I missed a great discussion and I’m not surprised as it is a though-provoking read in so many ways. The next one is the day after my birthday so unless my other half is whisking me off somewhere romantic (I doubt it) then I’ll be there.

Verity, I look forward to hearing what you think about the Gordimer VMC. I must check to see if my local secondhand bookshop still has copies that I noticed one time.

Thanks, Jackie. It’s interesting that Gordimer’s prediction of the future as opposed to what actually happened (thirteen years later) wasn’t picked up on by you and others in the group.

Aarti, I highly recommend it. The juxtaposition of power through the master/servant roles is so cleverly done as is the positioning of the players as equals and its subsequent complexities. It is powerful and moving and definitely a novel that will remain with me.

bybee, I hope you read it at some point! I thought it was little short of amazing.

Stu, it’s very good and I think a good place to start or at least it was for me.
Paperback Reader
March 9th, 2010 @ 2:12 pm

Thanks, Cate, I’ve added Rumours of Rain to my wishlist!

Mel, I hope you enjoy this one if you do decide to read it. I must look out for My Son’s Story.

Hi Andygrrrl, thanks for commenting on my blog for the first time. Your reminiscent account of reading July’s People amuses me – I would have found it surreal at school too! Text choices for school teaching can often be strange but to teach this with no political, historical nor cultural context is bizarre!

I think this will remain with me too.

Colleen, I hope that you enjoy it! I’m glad my review prompted you to add it.

Eva, I think you should definitely give Gordimer a second chance and do it with July’s People; if it doesn’t work for you then give up as she’s not for you!

Thanks, Polly. I very nearly let the style to begin with put me off but I found that after only a few pages that I got into a momentum and the style slotted into place. I’m sad that I missed discussing it though as I did really get into the novel.

Bellezza, I’m very excited about Persephone Reading Week myself so thanks for adding the button to your own site. Luckily for me (as it prevents me from buying any more books) there are only two of the Persephone classics that I don’t yet own and I happen to have read them both so I won’t be taking advantage of the offer myself. Enjoy!
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