The Conservationist

By Nadine Gordimer,

Book cover of The Conservationist

Book description

Mehring is rich. He has all the privileges and possessions that South Africa has to offer, but his possessions refuse to remain objects. His wife, son, and mistress leave him; his foreman and workers become increasingly indifferent to his stewardship; even the land rises up, as drought, then flood, destroy…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Conservationist as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I read this novel in university in a course taught brilliantly by the scholar WH New. It was the first time I understood the complexity of layers in great literature. Ostensibly about a businessman who buys a farm, it encompasses race relations, power in all its guises, sexuality, relationships to nature, and how character influences personal destiny. Written with outrage and compassion.

I kept The Conservationist in mind when I wrote my own book as an example of what a novel could be, but more than that, it taught me how to think about the world in a new way.

If you love The Conservationist...

Ad

Book cover of The Ballad of Falling Rock

The Ballad of Falling Rock by Jordan Dotson,

Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: “Are his love songs closer to heaven than dying?” Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard it…

Want books like The Conservationist?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Conservationist.

Browse books like The Conservationist

Book cover of Cry, the Beloved Country
Book cover of The Seed Is Mine: The Life of Kas Maine, A South African Sharecropper
Book cover of Life & Times of Michael K

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

2,009

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like The Conservationist, you might also like...

Book cover of Resting Places

Resting Places by Michael C. White,

Resting Places follows one woman’s journey after the devastating news of her son’s death. Elizabeth ekes out a lonely and strained relationship with her husband while trying to lose her grief in alcohol. A chance meeting with a man on the side of the road spurs her to travel cross-country…

Book cover of Return to Hope Creek

Return to Hope Creek by Alyssa J. Montgomery,

Return to Hope Creek is a second-chance rural romance set in Australia.

Stella Simpson's career and engagement are over. She returns to the rural community of Hope Creek to heal, unaware her high school and college sweetheart, Mitchell Scott, has also moved back to town to do some healing of…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in South Africa, Africa, and the conservation movement?

South Africa 136 books
Africa 269 books