From The New York Times Book Review:
"The events Andrew is involved in during his search for his son illuminate what turned out to be the final onslaught that caused white power - in its own self-interest - to abandon the trappings of apartheid. ... Richard Rive gives us an unusual glimpse of the dissension behind the barricades of the anti-apartheid movement. Andrew's detestation of the coerciveness of the activists makes him a traitor in the view of some of his colleagues and students.... The resolution at the end] seems an act of faith denying despair. This is apt, perhaps, given the uncertainty that lies ahead in the rebuilding of a South Africa freed from apartheid that Rive tragically did not live to witness."