In this book, Gordimer examines the tension for a writer between life's experiences and narrative creations. She tries to unravel the mysterious process that breathes real life into fiction by exploring the writings of revolutionaries in South Africa and the works of Naguib Mahfouz, Chinua Achebe and Amos Oz. Ending on a personal note, Gordimer reveals her own experience of writing her way out of the confines of a dying colonialism.