Надин Гордимер: A World of Strangers

Toby Hood, a young Englishman, shuns the politics and the causes his liberal parents passionately support. Living in Johannesburg as a representative of his family s publishing company, Toby moves easily, carelessly, between the complacent wealthy white suburbs and the seething, vibrantly alive black townships. His friends include a wide variety of people, from mining directors to black journalists and musicians, and Toby s colonial-style weekends are often interspersed with clandestine evenings spent in black shanty towns. Toby s friendship with Steven Sithole, a dashing, embittered young African, touches him in ways he never thought possible, and when Steven s own sense of independence from the rules of society leads to tragedy, Toby s life is changed forever.