Face to Face

Face to Face (1949) is the debut short story collection by Nobel Prize-winning author Nadine Gordimer. Gordimer, a prominent South African writer, often explored themes of exile and alienation, particularly in the context of apartheid. Her stories, including those in Face to Face, are characterized by a clear, controlled, and unsentimental style.1

The collection, like much of Gordimer's work, delves into the profound and often devastating impact of apartheid on the lives of South Africans. It examines the tension between personal isolation and the commitment to social justice, as well as the emotional numbness and inability to effect change that characterized the era. Gordimer's writing provides sharp social observation combined with reflections on individuals caught in oppressive circumstances.12