<DIV>Athol Fugard is renowned for his relentless explorations of personal and political survival in apartheid South Africa — which include his now classic plays <I>Master Harold and the Boys</I> and <I>The Blood Knot.</I> Fugard has written a single novel, <I>Tsotsi,</I> which director Gavin Hood has made into a feature film that is South Africa's official entry for the 2006 Academy Awards. Set amid the sprawling Johannesburg township of Soweto, where survival is the primary objective, <I>Tsotsi</I> traces six days in the life of a ruthless young gang leader.<BR><BR>When we meet Tsotsi, he is a man without a name (tsotsi is Afrikaans for "hoodlum") who has repressed his past and now exists only to stage and execute vicious crimes. When he inadvertently kidnaps a baby, Tsotsi is confronted with memories of his own painful childhood, and this angry young man begins to rediscover his own humanity, dignity, and capacity to love.<BR></div>