Author: Bianca Marais
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Canadian
Type: Trade Paperback
Pages: 423
Source: Publisher
Publisher: Putnam
First Published: July 16, 2019
Opening Lines: A thread of smoke snakes up into the cloudless sky and severs as Zodwa's compass needle. S She trails it until the sandy path dips suddenly, revealing a squat hut nestled in the grassland below."
Book Description from GoodReads: From the author of the beloved Hum if You Don't Know the Words comes a rich, unforgettable story of three unique women in post-Apartheid South Africa who are brought together in their darkest time, and discover the ways that love can transcend the strictest of boundaries.
In a squatter camp on the outskirts of Johannesburg, seventeen-year-old Zodwa lives in desperate poverty, under the shadowy threat of a civil war and a growing AIDS epidemic. Eight months pregnant, Zodwa carefully guards secrets that jeopardize her life.
Across the country, wealthy socialite Ruth appears to have everything her heart desires, but it's what she can't have that leads to her breakdown. Meanwhile, in Zaire, a disgraced former nun, Delilah, grapples with a past that refuses to stay buried. When these personal crises send both middle-aged women back to their rural hometown to lick their wounds, the discovery of an abandoned newborn baby upends everything, challenging their lifelong beliefs about race, motherhood, and the power of the past.
As the mystery surrounding the infant grows, the complicated lives of Zodwa, Ruth, and Delilah become inextricably linked. What follows is a mesmerizing look at family and identity that asks: How far will the human heart go to protect itself and the ones it loves?
In a squatter camp on the outskirts of Johannesburg, seventeen-year-old Zodwa lives in desperate poverty, under the shadowy threat of a civil war and a growing AIDS epidemic. Eight months pregnant, Zodwa carefully guards secrets that jeopardize her life.
Across the country, wealthy socialite Ruth appears to have everything her heart desires, but it's what she can't have that leads to her breakdown. Meanwhile, in Zaire, a disgraced former nun, Delilah, grapples with a past that refuses to stay buried. When these personal crises send both middle-aged women back to their rural hometown to lick their wounds, the discovery of an abandoned newborn baby upends everything, challenging their lifelong beliefs about race, motherhood, and the power of the past.
As the mystery surrounding the infant grows, the complicated lives of Zodwa, Ruth, and Delilah become inextricably linked. What follows is a mesmerizing look at family and identity that asks: How far will the human heart go to protect itself and the ones it loves?
My Rating: 5 stars
My Review: I love it when an author comes along and unexpectedly blows my socks off. In 2017, Bianca Marais left me utterly sockless after I read her debut novel, Hum If You Don't Know The Words. It was a beautifully written story that tackled big topics with compelling characters, heart and compassion.
So, you can imagine how excited I was when I heard Marais had a new book coming out (Hint: I looost it!). So, did I love it just as much as Hum? Let's just say that Marais need not fear the dreaded 'sophomore blues'. If You Want To Make God Laugh is an engaging story with vivid characters but it also has a personal connection to the author who draws from her own experiences when she volunteered with HIV-infected children in her native country of South Africa. Her experiences bring a depth, authenticity and emotion to her writing as she describes life in 1990's South Africa as Apartheid is ending and the AIDS epidemic is taking hold.
Marais doesn't shy away from big issues such as the stigma of HIV, racism, homophobia, religious corruption and abuse of power. She sets these issues within a compelling and touching story that follows the lives of three women (and one little boy) as they find strength in each other during a time of much suffering, rampant bigotry and ignorance.
This is a well-written, impactful and powerful story that focuses on the resiliency and tenacity of women from different backgrounds as South Africa's experiences its turbulent transition to democracy.
Bianca Marais has officially been added to my list of 'must read' authors.
Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Putnam Books for providing me with a complimentary copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.
So, you can imagine how excited I was when I heard Marais had a new book coming out (Hint: I looost it!). So, did I love it just as much as Hum? Let's just say that Marais need not fear the dreaded 'sophomore blues'. If You Want To Make God Laugh is an engaging story with vivid characters but it also has a personal connection to the author who draws from her own experiences when she volunteered with HIV-infected children in her native country of South Africa. Her experiences bring a depth, authenticity and emotion to her writing as she describes life in 1990's South Africa as Apartheid is ending and the AIDS epidemic is taking hold.
Marais doesn't shy away from big issues such as the stigma of HIV, racism, homophobia, religious corruption and abuse of power. She sets these issues within a compelling and touching story that follows the lives of three women (and one little boy) as they find strength in each other during a time of much suffering, rampant bigotry and ignorance.
This is a well-written, impactful and powerful story that focuses on the resiliency and tenacity of women from different backgrounds as South Africa's experiences its turbulent transition to democracy.
Bianca Marais has officially been added to my list of 'must read' authors.
Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Putnam Books for providing me with a complimentary copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.
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