The Drunken King, or, the Origin of the State Book

This is a long, detailed and meticulously researched portrait of Nadine Gordimer and her world - the turbulent times she lived through, the people she met, the events she experienced. It's a wide-ranging and comprehensive book, not a conventional cradle-to-grave biography by any means, (although it does of course cover her life,) but it's much more than that, exploring as it does the history, culture and politics of South Africa as well as offering a literary analysis of Gordimer's writings. A long book, it's not an easy read, and feels sometimes a bit scatter-gun in its approach. Nadine's writings are gone into in some detail which I found somewhat dry at times, especially if I wasn't familiar with the work being discussed. It's not in fact an authorised biography as Gordimer, after having cooperated fully with the author over many years, withdrew her consent at the end when he refused to delete certain passages. Such author/subject controversy always adds a certain frisson to the publication of a biography, but even without that I found this a compelling and convincing account of Gordimer's life and times, and well worth the effort demanded to keep going with it. I enjoyed learning not only about her, but about the broader picture, which places her firmly in her environment and historical period. Overall, an enjoyable and instructive book.