Book cover of Burger's Daughter

Book description

"A riveting history of South Africa and a penetrating portrait of a courageous woman." -- The New Yorker

A must read fiction of South Africa from the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

This is the moving story of the unforgettable Rosa Burger, a young woman from South Africa…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Burger's Daughter as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This novel made me uneasy.

I loved Rosa Burger's character, sympathized with her dilemma, and didn't want to see her harmed. And because she faced agonizing moral choices, I had to question my own. Rosa's parents, anti-apartheid activists in South Africa, were imprisoned; both died in jail. Their cause was just, their sacrifices laudable. I never doubted my own opposition to apartheid, but that was easy from a distance; I can't know what I would have done if I had lived there.

How can I judge Rosa for choosing her own path, even a frivolous one, away from both politics…

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On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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