Tredici anni di vita di sei compagni che condividono uno squallido monolocale a Hillbrow, Johannesburg. Vi sono arrivati dai loro villaggi, poco più che diciottenni, per continuare gli studi, per trovarsi un lavoro. Farsi una vita. Sempre sognando (è il leitmotiv del bel romanzo, di godibile lettura, pluripremiato) – e scontrandosi con l’amaro della realtà. Tra loro c’è chi ama leggere, chi produrre musica, chi è fiero della propria etnia, chi è un “buono”… È la nuova realtà sudafricana, urbanizzata, di una gioventù che a parole non vorrebbe più sentir parlare di apartheid, ma che ancora brucia per le ferite del passato. ( )

Room 207 is a book about six men living in a cramped one room flat in Hillbrow, a rundown suburb of Johannesburg, as they try to make their way in the entertainment industry in JNB.

Like books like Bret Easton Ellis' Less than Zero or Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City, Johannesburg and, specifically Hillbrow are major characters in the book. It is a story about how a city can take your dreams and goals and destroy them. Maybe the destruction has to do with racism, maybe your mistakes or issues. But it will, in all likelihood destroy your dreams. Many of the characters came to Hillbrow to complete their education at Wits University, and make it to the top of the arts industry in ZA. Only one graduated at Wits, and all of them struggled to pay for their apartment and food, though they did find some enjoyment through hanging out with each other, and drinking heavily.

Though I found the idea for the story to be interesting, overall I did not find it compelling. None of the characters in the story had much depth, and the women in the story were nothing but stick figures that fuck the guys and were "yes men" to their boyfriends (they allow the men to beat them, and still swear their love to the men). ( )