Home Ground

by Lynn Freed

Home Ground is the story of a theatrical family in a small South African town and "a revealing portrayal of an adolescent struggling to find her place in an unaccommodating world".--Village Voice.

Genres: Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Lynn Freed is a South African novelist and academic.

She came to the U.S. first as a foreign exchange student, and then went on to receive an M.A. and Ph.D. in English Literature from Columbia University. She taught at Bennington College, Saint Mary's College of California, the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Oregon, the University of Montana, and the University of Texas in Austin.
Ms Freed's short fiction, memoirs and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's,[1] The Atlantic Monthly, Southwest Review, The Georgia Review, the Michigan Quarterly Review, Tin House, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsday, Mirabella, House Beautiful, House & Garden, and Vogue Magazine.
Her work is widely translated and anthologized, and has been listed in Best American Short Stories and in The O. Henry Award Prize Stories.
Ms. Freed is Professor of English at the University of California, Davis, and lives in Northern California.[2]

Reviews

[Carla Beebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I read this book quite a few years ago, I thought about it often while reading Trever Noah's book, Born a Crime. Both books are informative and very well written. The astounding dichotomy between the life of a wealthy white girl in Home Ground and a colored boy in Born a Crime is something I can't get out of my mind. Home Ground covers a period of time wholly within Apartheid rule while Born a Crime is a couple decades later at the end of Apartheid. Having just finished Born a Crime, I think I will re-read Home Ground.

[Kent Sturcken · Rating 3 out of 5]

reads well

[Nova · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend had recommended this title after we read Trevor Noah's Born A Crime in our book club. Home Bound is set in the 1950s-1960s during apartheid and told through the voice of a wealthy young white girl, through her adolescence and journey into a young woman.

In the background we meet poor white persons, as well as persons from the African and Indian communities. Her awakening as she ages to the racial disparities is sharp and confusing and, at times, incredibly shocking, to see an event described by the mind of a child, with only the understanding of a young, affluent white mind.

[Stevie Holcomb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, if it only didn't end so abruptly. I felt we were only getting to know Ruth and here the book ends. I wonder what happened to her.

I do like books set in other countries yet speak to an American audience. We learn so much. The Kite Runner, one of my favorite books recently, does this very well.

As for the teasing of the servant that someone couldn't get past the first chapter--Nora, the head servant in the household, is so well loved by Ruth that she is the only one at the end that truly gives herself to the woman. The servants were well loved by Ruth, and the act in the beginning of the book serves to show us how the servants were supposed to be treated, humilated, and what Ruth learns from it. I understand putting a book down due to revulsion (I have myself, The Face of Fear by Dean Koontz, Still Missing by Chevy Stevens and more than one book by Anita Shreve) or boredom, because reading takes precious time, but I do think if you can get past the act and understand why the author put it in the book, you will get it.

I think the book could have done without Catherine and Jeffrey, and more emphasis on other characters. Lucy comes and goes, too, and could very well have been written out. Some plot holes, but a truly nice read and I would be interested in reading more of Ms. Freed's books.

[Maryjoamani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly loved this novel that reads like a memoir. The young protagonist/narrator is delightful, quirky, strong-headed, critical, and so very age appropriate in her insights and it is a delight seeing how her understanding of her family and herself grows and changes. A light read but fun. Makes me wonder how I would write about my own family. I truly never could feel it was a novel--the heroine is developed so well it reads like a real memoir. Set in South Africa just before the overthrow of apartheid, the hints of struggle in the background along with seemingly honest depictions of class within family life, is also interesting.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have never found this book if it hadn't been assigned to me in a college course on creative writing. Any aspiring writer should read this book. It is extremely well written and has everything you could want in a novel-- well-paced plot, interesting characters, imagery, universal themes, etc. I wouldn't call the writing style particularly beautiful or unique, but if you'd want to read an interesting story, read Home Ground.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOME GROUND and THE MIRROR are my favorite of Lynn Freed's novels so far. THE MIRROR is more seductive, the subdued language itself suggesting mystery and intrigue. But there is a lovely raw quality to HOME GROUND, which revels in, but does not fall prey to the glossing effects of nostalgia. It is a family and a coming of age story, but also manages to present the political and social unrest in South Africa in the 50's with tremendous compassion and honesty.

[Ru Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a the only book that I have ever read by anybody in or outside my own country that has held a narrator close to my heart. It was celebratory, curious and rendered with supreme confidence. It is certainly a voice I have tried to emulate in my own writing.

[Melinda]

ok

[Phyllis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was repulsed by the first chapter, due to humiliation of servant.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Loved it!