Tsotsi
- 5 Dec 2019
- 9781786896155
- £9.99
- 256 pp
- 129×198mm
- 12 Feb 2009
- 9781847674760
- £7.99
- 256 pp
In a few words
A classic of South African literature, adapted into a major motion picture, introduced by Jonathan Kaplan
In a few words
New edition of this classic of South African literature
Extraordinarily moving
A real find, by one of the most affecting and moving writers of our time
Extraordinarily moving
A real find, by one of the most affecting and moving writers of our time
More about
the book
Tsotsi is an angry young gang leader in the South African township of Sophiatown. A man without a past, he exists only to kill and steal. But when he captures a woman one night in a moonlit grove of bluegum trees, she shoves a shoebox into his arms: the box contains a baby and his life is inexorably changed. He begins to remember his childhood and rediscover the self he left behind.
Tsotsi‘s raw power and rare humanity show how decency and compassion can survive against the odds.
More about
the book
Tsotsi is an angry young gang leader in the South African township of Sophiatown. A man without a past, he exists only to kill and steal. But one night, in a moonlit grove of bluegum trees, a woman he attempts to rape forces a shoebox into his arms. The box contains a baby, and his life is inexorably changed. He begins to remember his childhood, to rediscover himself and his capacity for love.
Turned into an Oscar-winning movie in 2006, Tsotsi‘s raw power and rare humanity show how decency and compassion can survive against the odds.
One of the best novels in contemporary South African fiction
In lean yet lyrical prose . . . Fugard uncannily insinuates himself into the skins of the oppressed majority and articulates its rage and misery and hope
Powerful and disturbing
Outstanding . . . Fugard sets his intense scenes before a palpable void . . . one is left with an impression of both fierce instinct and fine shading
One of the best novels in contemporary South African fiction
In lean yet lyrical prose...Fugard uncannily insinuates himself into the skins of the oppressed majority and articulates its rage and misery and hope
Powerful and disturbing.
Simon Shaw
Mail on SundayOutstanding . . . Fugard sets his intense scenes before a palpable void . . . one is left with an impression of both fierce instinct and fine shading.
Stephanie Cross
Daily Telegraph
Athol Fugard
View profileAthol Fugard (1932-2025) was one of the world’s greatest dramatists. His career spanned over fifty years of playwriting, stage and film acting, and directing. He worked in South Africa, on and off Broadway and in London. Tsotsi is his only novel.
Athol Fugard
View profileAthol Fugard (1932-2025) was one of the world’s greatest dramatists. His career spanned over fifty years of playwriting, stage and film acting, and directing. He worked in South Africa, on and off Broadway and in London. Tsotsi is his only novel.
