Cover of The Pickup

Cover via Open Library

The Pickup

Portrait of Nadine GordimerNadine Gordimer

Portrait via Wikipedia

The Pickup is a 2001 novel by South African writer Nadine Gordimer. It tells the story of a couple: Julie Summers, a white woman from a financially secure family, and Abdu, an illegal Arab immigrant in South Africa. After Abdu's visa is refused, the couple returns to his unnamed homeland, where she is the alien. Her experiences and growth as an alien in another culture form the heart of the work. The Pickup considers the issues of displacement, alienation, and immigration, class and economic power, religious faith, and the ability of people to see and love across these divides.

From Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

GenreLiterary fiction· first published 2001

Vivek’s Notes

A mixed-race relationship between a well-off white woman and an illegal black car mechanic from an unnamed Arab country highlights themes of displacement, economic exile and migration. The 1991 Nobel laureate also won the Booker for "The Conservationist" in 1974.

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