The Mandela Plot by Kenneth Bonert, 466 pages.
Bonert's novel (mostly) takes place in 1980's Johannesberg. Botha is still president, but De Klerk is on the horizon. Sanctions are in place but they don't intrude too far into the life of the protagonist, Martin Helger. Martin is around 14 when the book opens, 17 during the bulk of the story and in his 20s in the weirder ending chapters. Martin doesn't have many friends, and this seems like an almost standard, bittersweet story of an awkward young man trying to connect to other, albeit set in South Africa as apartheid begins melting down, but as the book takes some odd turns. Martin makes some choices as the book progresses that could endanger him and his family. His infatuation with an American student leads him to cross path with a member of the security forces, a man with reason to hate Martin's father. And a scene from early in the book is slowly revealed as the book progresses and shows Martin to be someone other than a misguided young man. The plot device used to deliver us to an unexpected end, and Martin's changing relationship with his brother seemed a little forced to me and changed my opinion of the book.
