The Novels of Alex La Guma:

In this fresh look at the troubled, passionate work of an important South African writer and social critic, Balutansky explores Alex La Guma’s five novels in all their dimensions.

Balutansky notes La Guma’s belief that, in order to lead a fulfilling existence, an individual must go beyond introspection and adopt a life that is organized around unity, caring, and sharing. She is particularly interested in the tensions between form and content in the novels. Though concerned with the interaction of politics with esthetics, she is careful in her analysis not to allow the political thrust of La Guma’s work, important as it is, to dominate the symbolic structures and literary aspects of his fiction.