Nadine Gordimer and her right to criticize

Nadine Gordimer died on July 13, 2014 at the age of 90. She published her last novel, No time like the present, in 2012, at the age of 87. It deals, like all of Gordimer's books, with the contemporary situation in South Africa. It is about a mixed couple, he European, part Jewish, she Zulu, who participated in the anti-apartheid 'struggle' in Swaziland. It explores the middle class life of people, black and white, who enjoy the perks of freedom, but fail to address South Africa's major problems, the impoverishment of a large black underclass, and the plight of refugees from Zimbabwe, with no rights and no livelihood. It is a political novel, that dwells on political corruption, the failure of former freedom fighters, and in particular Zoma, who shared Mandela's incarceration on Robben Island, yet once in power, abused his authority. It is a book about dreams turned sour. The protagonists of the book, disillusioned, decide to leave South Africa and move to Australia. Nadine Gordimer had been writing and publishing stories, novels, and essays since 1953. She was a constant outspoken critic of the apartheid regime, an active member of the ANC (African National Congress) and a close friend of Nelson Mandela, who in his lonely old age would often drop in and have a meal with Gordimer. Her books are not easy reading, but she captures a vision of a divided, troubled, yet vibrant South Africa.