The House Gun

By Nadine Gordimer,

Book cover of The House Gun

Book description

How else can you defend yourself against losing your hi-fi equipment, your TV set and computer, your watch and rings? A house gun, like a house cat; that is a fact of ordinary life in many cities of the world as we come to the end of the twentieth century,…

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 House Gun as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I've loved just about everything that I've read by Gordimer, so it's hard to pick a favorite (The Lying Days is on another of my Shepherd shortlists!), but I've chosen one of her later titles here for balance.

One of the Novel Laureate's great post-apartheid works, this is a book with implications sadly not particular to South Africa—about freedom and accountability, love and family, and the normalization of violence. The style is a little unorthodox and can be tricky to follow, but Gordimer rewards readers who make the effort, which, to my mind, is very much worth the struggle.

From Trilby's list on South African identities.

Want books like The House Gun?

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

Browse books like The House Gun

Book cover of White Tribe Dreaming: Apartheid's Bitter Roots Witnessed By Eight Generations Of An Afrikaner Family
Book cover of Dreaming the Karoo: A People Called the /Xam
Book cover of My Traitor's Heart: A South African Exile Returns to Face His Country, His Tribe, and His Conscience

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

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

1,531

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in South Africa, murderers, and Africa?

South Africa 134 books
Murderers 54 books
Africa 265 books