The Mandela Plot
A Novel
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A Jewish teenager is drawn into the political violence of apartheid South Africa in this "riveting thriller" by the award-winning author of The Lion Seeker (Booklist, starred review).
As the 1980s draw to a close, apartheid is in its death throes and South Africa is a maelstrom of social unrest. Johannesburg teenager Martin Helger has problems of his own. The son of a Jewish scrap dealer, he's out of place at his elite private school. When an American named Annie comes to stay with his family, Martin becomes transfixed. But as he gets closer to her, he finds himself wrenched from his privileged bubble and thrust into the raw heart of South Africa's racial struggle.
Meanwhile, secrets from the past begin to emerge and old sins return to tear Martin's family apart, even as the larger forces of history and politics tear apart the country. At once a riveting literary thriller, a moving coming-of-age tale, and an unforgettable journey through a fascinating world, The Mandela Plot entertains and terrifies in equal measure.
A Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in 1980s South Africa, this uneven literary thriller from National Jewish Book Award winner Bonert (The Lion Seeker) focuses on 16-year-old Martin Helger, a bored student at a private religious day school in Johannesburg. His routine life changes with the arrival of Annie Goldberg, an anthropology major at Columbia who has come to teach at a primary school in one of the city's black townships, as a guest of his family. Instantly smitten, Martin becomes obsessed with Annie. He regularly sneaks into her room to search her possessions, among which he finds a concealed videotape. Annie catches him in the act; later, she reveals that the tape is vital to her efforts to topple the apartheid regime. Motivated by lust rather than political conviction, Martin becomes her accomplice in duplicating the video so it can be widely distributed. Predictably, Annie and Martin's efforts fall short with tragic results. Underdeveloped as a lead, Martin experiences personal losses that don't pack the emotional punch readers would expect in the circumstances. Bonert fails to make the most of an intriguing setup. Agents: Kim Witherspoon and Maria Whelan, Inkwell Management. This review has been revised to remove a spoiler.
