Cafe de Move-on Blues: In Search of the New South Africa

In White Boy Running, Christopher Hope explores how it felt and looked to grow up in a country gripped by an absurd, racist insanity. Thirty years later, he finds a country still in the grip of a ruling party intent on caring for itself, where racial divides are deeper than ever. This is a darkly comic, powerful, and moving portrait of South Africa, an elegy to a living nation.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 336 pages
\n Publication date: 03 May 2018
\n Publisher: Atlantic Books
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Longlisted for the prestigious RSL Ondaatje Prize in 2019, Christopher Hope's novel "White Boy Running" delves into the experiences of growing up in a country plagued by an absurd and racist insanity. Thirty years later, Hope embarks on a road trip to explore the present-day South Africa, navigating the aftermath of apartheid and the dashed hopes and dreams of Nelson Mandela's vision of a future free from racial discrimination. However, what he finds is a country deeply entrenched in the grip of a ruling party that prioritizes its own interests over the well-being of others. Racial divides have become even more pronounced, and the remnants of the old imperial idols, such as Cecil Rhodes and Paul Kruger, are being forcefully removed from their pedestals in a collective desire to erase the past.

In this context, Hope ponders the question: "What next?" The novel is presented as a travelogue, offering a darkly comic, powerful, and moving portrait of South Africa. It serves as an elegy to a living nation that continues to grapple with its madness and absurdity. Through Hope's journey, readers are invited to witness the complexities and contradictions of a country striving to rebuild itself while grappling with the legacy of its painful past.

\n Weight: 684g\n
Dimension: 166 x 240 x 33 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781786490599\n
Edition number: Main\n