Woman Zone CT - Book Reviews

WELCOME TO THE WOMAN ZONE BOOK REVIEW PAGE.
This is where members of the WZ Book Club get to share their thoughts on titles seen on the shelves of our Women’s Library. All reviews are unsolicited and only those attending the WZBC may borrow and review books.
The Woman Zone Book Club meets on the 2nd Saturday of every month between 2pm and 4pm at The Women’s Library, ground floor, Artscape. All are welcome.

We welcome your reviews of women-authored books. Send between 200-500 words and cover pic if possible to info@womanzonect.co.za or hipzone@mweb and we will post it here!

Our Missing Hearts

11/27/2022

Author: Celeste Ng
Publisher: Abacus books
Reviewer: Nancy Richards
It was Lauren Beukes who first unpacked the word ‘dystopian’ for me following the release of her first book, Moxyland in 2008. As you know she’s stayed on that trail with a few more titles, and I’m still reeling from the latest, Afterland, described by some as feminist dystopia. But whilst I appreciate the creative foresight that goes into writing dystopia (imagined state or society in which there is great suffering or injustice, typically

one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic), I have to say that with the global here-and-now being so ghastly, dipping into the future to find worse, often leaves me depleted.
So on that basis, ‘Our Missing Hearts’ by Celeste Ng presented a bit of a challenge. Set in the US a decade or so into the future, the ‘authorities’ have declared PACT– Preserving American Culture and Traditions - to be the defining ethic, or law. They’ve also decreed that the offspring of anyone defying that law, are to be removed and relocated. Most especially children of PAO, People of Asian Origin (and don’t we know that when you become an acronym, you’ve pretty much lost the battle. Don’t we also know about racial bigotry and fear).
Having said all that, I found this to be a beautifully written book, something that kept me going when I felt I might be missing, or losing, the plot. What I did get though, loud and clear, was a reverence for folk tales and sharing them, the fragile value of libraries and the agony of a mother torn between her beliefs and caring for her child.
I wish I had read the Author’s Note before instead of after reading the book. It details how children have been used as pawns in discriminate thinking across the world and over generations. Amongst other things, it also explains the extraordinary guerrilla art protest that features here, but most importantly it reveals that this is not just futuristic fantasy – but a cautionary tale.
I haven’t read Celeste Ng’s other books, ‘Everything I Never Told You’ and ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ – but I believe they have had people talking, and thinking.

The Soft Life

11/25/2022

Author: Lebohang Masango
Publisher: Tafelberg
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
Let me come clean. At first glance, the title of this book and the picture that accompanies the cover conjured opulence and frivolous living in my psyche. I was surprised then to read the back cover and discover that it is non-fictional. The book is by feminist thinker and anthropologist, Lebohang Masango, and features real lived experiences of five motivated and educated women. The author earned her Master of Arts degree from the

University of Witwatersrand in 2019 after submitting the qualitative research thesis that this book is based upon. To quote the author; “This book is about five different women and what their truths, stories and insights can reveal to us about love, choice and modern dating in South Africa and how exactly these aspects contribute to ‘the soft life’ moment that we find ourselves in…” So dear readers, as the old saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover.
The book focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the lives of these women, their dating experiences, the influence of social media, the women’s vulnerabilities and their political beliefs.
Lihle is a 31-year-old entrepreneur from Alex, Joburg. She is the life of the party with her make-up always done. Her relationships have been characterised by men loaded with cash – a man seeking love has to be contented with being the one to spend on her. The COVID-19 restrictions created turmoil in her love life.
Jolie is a career focused 29-year-old-old living between Joburg and Tshwane. She’s also engrossed in establishing herself as a singer. Her Senegalese upbringing has instilled in her that boyfriends and husbands are the providers of the home. She expects men to take the financial lead in relationships. Three months into the pandemic, she ended her relationship of five years.
Nomonde is a 33-year-old devoted traveller with many years in the advertising industry. She left her career as she was unfulfilled and blissfully left Joburg for Cape Town. During COVID she had online relationships. Her pressing concern is that young women are impressionable and unable to correctly weigh the consequences of pursuing soft lives at all costs. Now armed with adulthood, she hopes that in her current relationship material things will manifest later.
Warm and lovely Bongi, is a 27-year-old entrepreneur and a Joburg resident. She has recently earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in marketing and established an online handbag store. She once enjoyed having multiple partners but is now in a steady relationship with one man.
Friendly Camilla is a 28-year-old junior publicist with a three-year-old son. She associates having a soft life with not having to spend her own money. She has no qualms about a man spending money on her. She tells the author that she’s in pursuit of a life where she can have nice life problems. She once met a man at a restaurant who asked for her number. She gave it to him. The next thing, the man sent her R3 000 and never spoke to her again. Talk about being #blessed!
The women in this book identify themselves as feminists and share some of the ways this takes shape in their lives. The book gives valuable comprehensions and motivation of the young women who want a soft life. Women who defy society’s expectations of respectability and often vilified, ridiculed and accused of being prostitutes on and off line. If we are to be honest, since time immemorial, women have been using dating and marriages as channels to a better life. As the author says, “Soft life is simply an articulation of aspirations inherent to all human beings. It is just actualised differently according to our personal circumstances.”
What I notice from women living the soft life, the slay queens and blessees is that one has to be immaculate to be desirable. The women are always perfectly made up and well-groomed. The nails are well-manicured, the hair is flawless and the clothes are outrageously expensive. And, let me not forget, the dolls’ eyelashes. Those astonishing eyelash extensions. With a great sigh, I’m afraid this leisure and lavish lifestyle is out of my radar range. Instead of upgrading my looks and femininity, I’m constantly on a spiralling downgrading mode. There’s always the Lotto though…I also want a life free of hardship damn it!

Stellenbosch: Murder Town

11/23/2022

Author: Julian Jansen
Publisher: Tafelberg
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
I have a confession to make. As someone who readily enjoys reading and watching horror and crime stories, I’ve been taken aback by the murders I have read in this book. The sheer madness and brutality of it all is astonishing. The fact that they are true, has sent chills down my spine and left me disturbed. South Africa is a rough place with crime and mayhem off the charts. One would think I should not be shocked by this book,

TEST

11/16/2022

Author: Saray Khumalo
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Reviewer: Nancy Richards
There was a point at which I could relate to Saray Khumalo’s story. It’s when, on an early climbing expedition, she wonders why she is doing this. Half way up a precipitous slope on day one of my first ever hike, I wondered the same thing. I also understood what she meant when she regretted packing a solid fruit cake for a friend’s birthday when they reached the top. On my trip, a fellow hiker carried not only a pot of proving dough to

Payback

11/13/2022

Author: Priscilla Holmes
Publisher: Modjaji
Reviewer: Nancy Richards
‘You can’t possibly be serious.’ said the voice in my imaginary conversation with author Priscilla Holmes. ‘It’s completely OUTRAGEOUS!’ ‘Yup’ came the reply. Guess she’s not wrong – if you’re going to write a killer-thriller, what for to hold back. Certainly not on detail, and in Payback, Ms Holmes has spared none.
Quick catch up, if you’re not familiar with her

first Thabisa Tswane novel Now I See You, you should know that the intuitive investigative Detective Inspector Tswane has recently been promoted to Major in the Eagles, a South African crime-fighting unit (bird of prey similarity intended). But while the Major, her muscular and intriguing husband Zak (another force for good in remote and secret places) and her twin sons Kwezi and Langa are key to this stand-alone story, the real outstandingly outrageous protagonist is Julia McEwan aka Eloise du Pont whose ‘couverture’ is not blown so much as completely over le top. ‘In this job you will have to play many parts,’ says the couverture coach, ‘you stand out because you’re tall, so sometimes you must learn to stoop, tu comprends?’
Francophiles will love this book with its linguistic segues. Fashionistas also indulged with much dress detail hot from the style avenues of Paris, and for those with cultural curiosity, there’s a visit to a rural red ochre valley with precious, protected beadwork, traditional dancing and the revered if terrifying utatomkhulu. For good measure there’s quite a bit of steamy sex, infidelity, suspicion and revenge too.
The big fromage however, is the obscenely wealthy and less-than-scrupulous Victor Maseko whose prime objective is to create and launch an uber-opulent shrine to his ego, The Maseko. Forests of trees and flowers are brought in for the opening bash, sushi and frosted flutes of champagne are served, the Mamelodi Youth choir and Nkosazana the people’s princess sing, presidents, press and personalities are invited and all are treated to a dazzling ‘carrieres de lumierers’ sound and light finale. Did I mention outrageous?
The first Thabisa Tswane title came out eight years ago, since when it seems Ms Holmes has been amassing some pretty meaty material for this one and, one suspects, delving into her own well-travelled experience and memory bank.

The Swim Team

11/11/2022

Author: Catherine Jarvis
Publisher: Tafelberg
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
This book review has been dense to say the least. Very much necessary though in the world we live in. It’s about the protagonist

Notes on Falling

11/5/2022

Author: Bronwyn Law – Viljoen
Publisher: Umuzi
Reviewer: Beryl Eichenberger
‘Notes on Falling ‘ by Bronwyn Law-Vijoen is a rich novel if sometimes a little confusing, or maybe challenging is the better word as the reader is required to concentrate, to follow the threads even when they appear to unravel.
What it gives us though is a creative arc and a lens through which to view the turbulent creativity of the 70s in New York and the lives of those who pursue the arts as a career, as it intersects with the challenges of 90s South

The Cedarville Shop and the Wheelbarrow Swap

10/24/2022

Author: Bridget Krone
Publisher: Catalyst Press
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
Before writing English text books for South African schools, Bridget Krone was an English teacher for a few years. This book, her latest, is about a young boy who learns the importance of friendship and community. It’s a tale of courage, never giving up and knowing there’s grace in the world no matter

how depressing your circumstances are. Aim for the moon because even if you miss, you might hit a star. Through his endeavours our protagonist discovers the significance of aspiring high, even if he lives in an impoverish village called Cedarville.
Boipelo (Boi) Seku is almost thirteen. He’s a Grade 8 pupil at Cedarville Comprehensive School and lives with his grandmother and father in a little two-room house in Khorong Koali Park in Cedarville. Cedarville, in the Eastern Cape, is a small village between two bigger towns, Matatiele and Kokstad. Instead of having green shady trees, his village is littered with dirt, weeds and thin dogs. Their houses were built after 1994 by the new democratic government after apartheid ended. They have a pit toilet outside the garden.
Life at home is not easy. Like most of his neighbours, Boi’s father is unemployed. Their only source of income is the government grant money that Makhulu (grandmother) gets at the end of the month. They use candles to light their home at night and a paraffin stove to cook as the cost of electricity is out of their reach. Their house is baking hot in summer and as cold as ice in winter as they don’t have ceiling boards. The tin roof leaks when it rains so Boi knows where to position his mattress to avoid it getting wet when it rains. His mother died in childbirth so Makhulu moved into the house to take care of him. Even though she’s almost blind, nothing he does escapes her notice. Much to his irritation.
His best friend is Potso, they’ve been inseparable since Grade One. They fish together at the river, hunt for tiny field mice to roast on an open fire, and dig clay from holes in the river bank and make little animals, mostly oxen or cows. Potso aside, he also has feelings for Sesi, the daughter of one of his school teachers.
It was an ordinary day when he stumbled upon a story that would change his life forever. Makhulu had gotten some old magazines from aunty Shirley from the library and asked Boi to read to her recipes for mincemeat from one of the magazines. A brief not easy when you are a boy whose staple diet consist of maize meal porridge and sour milk. The closest the family ever gets to eat meat is chicken feet or polony. The story that caught his interest though was titled: Man Trades Paperclip for a House. It ignited a spark in him that saw him start his own trading scheme beginning with a tiny clay cow he made himself. Just maybe, his dream to one day live in a house big enough for his family, could become reality. Doubts aside and with Potso by his side, he traded. And trade by trade, he learned valuable life lessons, overcame obstacles, uplifted his community and brought to power the Nguni saying: Umuntu ungumuntu ngabantu (you’re because of others).

Today is Tomorrow

10/23/2022

Author: Caroline Kurtz
Publisher: Catalyst Press
Reviewer: Hazel Makuzeni
If you would like to get a better understanding of the complexities of a civil war, its destruction, human suffering, power struggles, peace restoration and reconciliation – this is one of the books to get your hands on. Not only does the author gives a genuinely personal examination of South Sudan at war; she also shares her family’s upheaval as she comes to terms with her own humility, strength and weaknesses. How she saved her sanity, in the face of such adversity and tragedy, is beyond me.

Even though an American, the author, Caroline Kurtz had lived in Africa almost half her life. Her parents worked in Ethiopia for twenty-three years since her father got a letter from the Presbyterian Church headquarters in the US asking if he could go to Ethiopia to be a missionary. She was four when they arrived. She was raised there and fluent in Amharic. She was ten when her parents put her alone on the plane to fly to boarding school in Addis Ababa. And was fifteen when she attended high school in Egypt. She met her husband Mark there – both high school juniors and both children of Presbyterians working in SW Ethiopia.
The year was 1996 when she and Mark relocated to Nairobi, Kenya, leaving their daughter Miriam in college in the US. Their supervisors in Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) had presented them with an opportunity to work for four years in Nairobi with the South Sudanese there. She, as the Women’s Development Advisor, and Mark their Financial Advisor in charge of setting up the Presbyterian Church of Sudan’s head office budget. This was testing their faith to the limit as both had no major experiences when it came to their assignments. Caroline had never organised development projects before, but she was sure there would be something she could do to empower South Sudanese women. She had studied community organising. Mark could only arm himself with a basic accounting course in preparation. Previously, both had thrived in Ethiopia working for six years in an Addis Ababa girl’s school. Nothing prepared her though for a civil war chaos she would encounter, even though her parents raised her for hardship in Africa in pursuit of making the world a better place. Their move to Kenya also included their two young sons, Kenny (eight at the time) and Jesse (a teen). An elite international school was waiting to welcome the boys.
Also, in 1996 the government of Sudan had signed a cease-fire with Commander Riek Machar, a Nuer warlord in South Sudan. Millions have been killed and displaced in South Sudan during the decades long civil war. The Sudan government had bombed rebels in the South remorselessly. The Southern commanders had fought each other and civilians were casualties. Crops were burned to ashes, cattle slaughtered and famine rife.
Caroline and Mark were enthusiastic. “Everyone was hopeful about the future – UN staff, Nuers. How do humans do that, even facing odds laid out as clearly before us as the odds of success in South Sudan?” she asks. Idealism perhaps. She attended the UN’s aid worker orientation course and felt excited and empowered. She studied her notebook of Nuer vocabulary words. The Nuers are cattle people; their Southern neighbours are the Dinkas. She could be in South Sudan up to a third of every month.
In the book Caroline describes her life in the village of Waat, a compound where she would live for the first time in South Sudan. She was the only American for hundreds of miles around. The village was dense with heat, and with bare necessities. All it offered grew out of the ground, mostly the sorghum people ate all the time. The Red Cross had recently drilled a new well. She was hosted by the village pastor and his assistant. Her refuge at night was her burgundy tent. Elder Guy Lual, a church leader from Nairobi, was also there. She also met Nyang – he went to university in Cairo but returned to Waat with so much optimism. He wanted to rebuild classrooms, to teach adult education and children to read. He had come back to be Education Director for the province. Caroline had brought with her two big treadle sewing machines; she wanted to help the women live few of their dreams. The women wanted her to stay and teach them to read.
As with all best intentions, everything started out good. The Sudanese pastors in Nairobi welcomed Mark with open arms. He negotiated a new office for them. The Presbyterians were donating money for South Sudan and Mark was there to track the money, to see if it was being used to help the suffering people. It soon emerged that was not the case. Bank statements and receipts were not forthcoming. The money was not making its way out of Nairobi for development in South Sudan. Church leaders were spending the money from grants to support their families living in Nairobi instead. Mark grew disheartened. The author admits at this time they should have sought help immediately. “He was feeling increasingly humiliated. The air in our house got heavier and heavier. Mark hardly ever smiled,” she says. They’ve been married for twenty-three years by the time she went to Waat. Mark was let go; told to take a break from his assignment. He was in despair.
Caroline was facing her own struggles. After getting back from Waat, she had written a grant for sewing machines and sewing lessons for South Sudan women. After the grant came, Mark informed her that the pastors were using the money to pay salary. There was no money for her to travel into South Sudan, or for anything to do with women’s development. She was now also aground at home.
This was just the beginning to the complex humanitarian crises she experienced first hand in South Sudan. In her journey she got to teach young Nuer men for weeks at a time in the harsh, “god-forsaken” Kakuma refugee camp. She taught women to crochet in Nyal – a village where all traces of the 20th century had been erased. In 1998, she got a new assignment as a logistical organiser for an upcoming peace conference. She now had a full-time job and office space. This was a turning point for her. As she says; the most important and hope-inspiring work she did in all her years in Africa. Through this work, she became part of a peace intervention team in a close-in conflict. South Sudanese tribes were fighting each other in the middle of their big war against the government of North Sudan. The Wunlit Peace Conference of 1999 paved the way to reconciliation between the communities. The Dinkas and Nuers had to make peace with each other to have any hope of winning the war for independence from the North.

The Parisian

10/23/2022

Author: Isabella Hammad
Publisher: Grove Press
Reviewer: Brigid Comrie
Zadie Smith describes The Parisian as ‘a sublime reading experience: delicate, restrained, surpassingly intelligent, uncommonly poised and truly beautiful.’

Yes! What an epic historical book of fiction and written by a young woman in her twenties.
The period is between the First World War and the rumbles of the Second World War. At the heart of it is the Palestinian struggle for independence and turbulent Middle Eastern politics. This is the backdrop to a deeply compassionate and understated story of lives caught up in the turmoil, and trying to make sense of it all.
The main character, Midhat Kamal, travels from Palestine to study medicine in a town in France. He moves to Paris where he absorbs some of the Parisian manners and style. On his return to Palestine, he becomes known as ‘the Parisian’. We get an indication of Hammad’s ability to capture the big picture with detail and understatement: During Midhat’s medical training, the professor, surrounded by a number of students including Midhat, is examining a young boy. After the emanation the professor pronounces, ‘carcinoma of the stomach and you will have to see the surgeon this afternoon.’ For the first time the boy speaks in an anxious tone, ‘But I have to get back to work.’ Midhat can’t get the boy out of his mind and a few days later he enquires after the boy. No one can tell him anything because the flood of wounded soldiers from the front has overtaken the hospital.
Relationships are central to the story, both deeply loving and loyal or painful and fractured. At times letters play a beautiful role, they are personal and sometimes include incidental historical facts or lines of poetry. Hammad uses Arabic or French in different contexts adding authenticity without compromising meaning. The descriptions of markets and local stores are rich and detailed – ‘where customers are offered coffee heavy with sugar and cardamom’.
I loved this book; it moved me deeply and at times made me laugh. I look forward to her next book, due in January 2023.