''Get a Life'' is a 2005 novel by the South African writer

Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognized as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writin ...

. The novel tells the story of environmental activist Paul Bannerman and his family. Paul is diagnosed with

thyroid cancer Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...

and, after surgery and subsequent radiation treatment, has to live

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

d at his parents' place for some time. This significant change in his life also affects his family. The novel received mixed reviews by critics, and departs from other novels by Gordimer as it does not directly deal with

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, instead focusing on the struggle of a single individual.

Plot

After Paul Bannerman, an ecologist, is diagnosed with thyroid cancer and receives an operation, he is left radioactive. As a consequence of his radioactivity, Bannerman is left in the care of his parents so as to avoid affecting anyone else. While he is isolated, he becomes unhappy with his wife, who is a marketing executive, as he sees her as lacking convictions and enabling those he opposes as an environmentalist.

Reception

Critics noted that the grammar in the book was strange, and that the novel seemed at times to not have been edited. Sophie Harrison, writing for ''The New York Times'', compared the novel favorably to ''

The Magic Mountain ''The Magic Mountain'' (german: Der Zauberberg, links=no, ) is a novel by Thomas Mann, first published in German in November 1924. It is widely considered to be one of the most influential works of twentieth-century German literature. Mann st ...

'', but noted differences between the respective protagonists of both novels. Harrison also criticized Gordimer's failure to focus on the particular details of Bannerman's struggle due to her attempt to provide a universally applicable narrative about illness. Gordimer was also faulted for failing to adequately flesh out the personalities of the novel's characters.

References

Get a Life Novels by Nadine Gordimer 21st-century South African novels {{2000s-SouthAfrica-novel-stub