Description

Book Synopsis

In the run up to the 1987 election Christopher Hope returned to his native South Africa after a twelve-year absence. The nature of that year's whites-only election and the bitter defeat of the liberals led him to write this satirical, evocative portrait of what it looked and felt like growing up in a country gripped by an absurd, racist insanity.

Full of exquisite and despairing descriptions, Hope weaves together journalistic commentary and his own personal story as he encounters the bloody battles that have divided his homeland. This is a mordantly witty account of escape, displacement and disillusionment, and a modern classic of journalistic memoir.



Trade Review
Ventures deeper and deeper into the theatre of cruelty, enacting a tangled, horrifying dark comedy. * J.M. Coetzee *
Hope writes with extraordinary exuberance and invention. * Literary Review *
Marvellously chilling * The Times *
Mocking, angry and beautiful * Washington Post *
Exactly the right note of cold, poetic irony * Financial Times *
Breathtaking to the very end * Guardian on 'My Mother's Lovers' *

White Boy Running

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    A Paperback / softback by Christopher Hope

    £9.49

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    RRP £9.99 – you save £0.50 (5%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Mon 9 Nov 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Atlantic Books
      Published 3 May 2018
      ISBN-13 9781786496423
      978-1786496423
      ISBN-10 1786496429
      Also in:
      Travel writing

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      In the run up to the 1987 election Christopher Hope returned to his native South Africa after a twelve-year absence. The nature of that year's whites-only election and the bitter defeat of the liberals led him to write this satirical, evocative portrait of what it looked and felt like growing up in a country gripped by an absurd, racist insanity.

      Full of exquisite and despairing descriptions, Hope weaves together journalistic commentary and his own personal story as he encounters the bloody battles that have divided his homeland. This is a mordantly witty account of escape, displacement and disillusionment, and a modern classic of journalistic memoir.



      Trade Review
      Ventures deeper and deeper into the theatre of cruelty, enacting a tangled, horrifying dark comedy. * J.M. Coetzee *
      Hope writes with extraordinary exuberance and invention. * Literary Review *
      Marvellously chilling * The Times *
      Mocking, angry and beautiful * Washington Post *
      Exactly the right note of cold, poetic irony * Financial Times *
      Breathtaking to the very end * Guardian on 'My Mother's Lovers' *

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