White Boy Running

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Poet-novelist Hope was born and raised in a South African Irish-Catholic family and hence, set apart from the ruling Afrikaners, has always been keenly aware of the pernicious effects of apartheid on both blacks and whites. ``In this sad, sensitive book, describing his first visit to South Africa in 13 years, he examines current conditions against the backdrop of his own memories,'' wrote PW. (July)

Library Journal

$17.95. per nar A combination of autobiography, travel account, political commentary, and history, this book relates novelist Hope's return to South Africa at the time of the 1987 election. In describing his life growing up in Balfour, Johannesburg, and Pretoria, Hope details the frighteningly logical progression from the 1948 election when the Nationalists came to power to the absurdity and tragedy of 1987. The last of the three sections, ``Good Morning, Lemmings!'' describes the parties in the white election and the election itself. Of interest mostly to those with some knowledge of South Africa. Not a first choice or for the smaller library, but useful if bought along with the growing body of autobiographical material available on black South Africans. Maidel Cason, Univ. of Delaware Lib., Newark