The Pickup by Nadine Gordimer (Book Review by Nicola Jane-Ford)
The Pickup
by Nadine Gordimer
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Set in South Africa, The Pickup is the story of a young South African woman (Julie) who meets and falls in love with a foreigner, Abdu (whose real name is Ibrahim). She is a confident young woman from a fairly wealthy family, has a solid social group and a job in P.R. that she is not particularly emotionally invested in, but it pays the bills. Abdu, on the other hand, is a young immigrant, living in the country illegally and working as a mechanic. He barely scrapes by and lives his life day by day.
A true daughter of the ‘new South Africa’, Julies enters freely and willingly into a relationship with Abdu, embracing his foreign culture. What Julie takes for granted though, is that while the ‘new South Africa’ is epitomised by democracy, freedom and choice, these are rights reserved especially for the privileged. The new, post-apartheid constitution dictates that these are rights to which every individual is entitled, yet in reality, it is primarily only the privileged who are able to enjoy them. Abdu is unable to get his permanent residency in South Africa, and when his attempts to remain in the country prove futile, he is forced to return to his homeland, somewhere in Saudi Arabia. Devastated at the prospect of losing her new lover and jaded by her life in Johannesburg, Julie decides to leave with Abdu, in spite of his misgivings surrounding her doing so. Due to cultural norms, Abdu tells Julie he cannot take her to his family home unless they go as husband and wife and so they are married in a court of law before leaving the country.
Julie finds herself in a foreign country where no one speaks her language and the role of women is dramatically different to what she is accustomed. Abdu, in the meantime, reverts back to his real name (Ibrahim) and spends his days trying to find another country for them to live in. After all, he left his home in search of hope and a future, and although he was not permitted to stay in South Africa, he still clings to his dream of a better life, wherever that may be.
However, now in Ibrahim’s country of birth, a power shift takes place. Julie has to learn to live her life according to new ‘norms’ - different to how she was brought up. She now lives in a country where she can’t understand what people are saying, is not allowed to go certain places unless accompanied by a man (as if she were a child) and her role as a woman is clearly defined. Like Ibrahim was like a fish out of water in her culture, so is she in his.
The Pickup deals with the more ambiguous implications of a new, post-apartheid South Africa. The novel juxtaposes privilege with poverty, belonging with exile, global with local and choice with compulsion - using the two main characters to each represent a side. It makes for an interesting read, especially in the context of a post-apartheid South Africa.
Nadine Gordimer is a hugely important South African literary figure. An ardent opposer of the apartheid regime, her works (both fiction and non-fiction) have earned her a Booker Prize (The Conservationist, 1974), the Nobel Prize for Literature (1991) and the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (2007) - among many other awards.
Nicola-Jane Ford is a 30-year old ‘chick’ who is the proud guardian of a fabulous cat and many pairs of equally fabulous shoes. She lives in (gorgeous) Cape Town and supports her love of red wine by working as a copywriter. She is the Assistant Reviews Editor here at All Things Girl
