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Overview
Using a broad range of literature to examine the political culture of white South Africa, Peck finds both a preoccupation with political issues and a dislike for politics. The literature examined ranges from South African propaganda, through a variety of bestsellers—adventure stories and mystery novels written by authors such as Wilbur Smith and James McClure—to self-conscious literary works of the canonical white South African authors such as Alan Paton, André Brink, and Nadine Gordimer. The study gives attention to anti-political features of the liberal tradition that dominated South African writing, and to the failure of writers who undermined that tradition to generate a more positive view of politics. The morbid fascination with politics that is found across the full spectrum of creative writing is a reflection of the circumstances in which writers found themselves, but it is still a worrisome feature of the white South African political culture.
Synopsis
Using a broad range of literature to examine the political culture of white South Africa, Peck finds both a preoccupation with political issues and a general distrust of politics.
Booknews
The author calls the combination of a preoccupation with political issues and a distaste for politics in South African writing a "morbid fascination" with politics. He explores this morbid fascination in South African fiction written by English-speaking white writers<-- >Wilbur Smith, James McClure, Herman Bosman, Wessel Ebersohn, June Drummond, Alan Paton, Laurens van der Post, Dan Jacobson, Phyllis Altman, and Mary Benson. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.