The Pickup
Book description
When Julie Summers' car breaks down in a sleazy street, a young Arab garage mechanic comes to her rescue. Out of this meeting develops a friendship that turns to love. But soon, despite his attempts to make the most of Julie's wealthy connections, Abdu is deported from South Africa and…
Why read it?
2 authors picked The Pickup as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Nadine Gordimer’s book sucked me into its post-apartheid South Africa setting.
I greatly admired how Gordimer bravely tackles the thorny matter of interracial relationships, chronicling an improbable love affair between an illegal immigrant in South Africa and a privileged white South African. Gordimer navigates the complexity of the relationship with insight and empathy, sidestepping the expediency of simplicity to deal frontally with matters of love, race, and class struggle.
From Benjamin's list on the complexities of migration.
South African writer Nadine Gordimer, the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, commands enormous power with her words. While they have a deceptively poetic lilting beauty, they also deal incisively with epic issues. The Pickup is one of my favourites, an ultimately lifting tale about a white woman and an illegal Arab immigrant, which portrays the power of love and understanding to cross great divides in class and wealth and outlook.
From Sue's list on to inspire and make you feel good about the world.
Want books like The Pickup?
Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 89 books like The Pickup.
5 book lists we think you will like!
Interested in undocumented immigrants, the upper class, and the Arab world?
10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about undocumented immigrants, the upper class, and the Arab world.