Review by Choice Review
In this fascinating book--half politics, a quarter cultural anthropology, and a quarter literary biography and criticism and sports commentary--Farred (Williams College) treats the "colored" (i.e., mixed race) population of South Africa and their disenfranchisement as neither black nor white in a binary society. The title metaphor, from soccer, refers to one who plays neither offense nor defense but is caught in the furious middle of the game where the two ends exert great pressure. After a helpful if discursive introduction, Farred provides three chapters on colored literary figures Richard Rive, Arthur Nortje, and Jennifer Davids and three chapters on sport as escape and achievement. Arguably the most important part of the book, the chapters on the three writers deal less with their writing as literature than with their works as attempts to confront their coloredness. Rive tried unsuccessfully to transcend color, to deny it; Nortje wrestled with the "pain of his origin" and finally died from a drug overdose while studying in London; Davids, the only one of the three from a stable family, ignores her racial identity and writes universally, to no prescribed audience. A valuable book for collections supporting South African literature, politics, and sociology at the undergraduate or graduate level. ; Gordon College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
