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Synopsis (From Goodreads):
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?
Review:
I first became aware of Bianca Marais's writing from the novel, Hum If You Don't Know The Words. It was our month's book club selection. I liked the characters and finding out more about South Africa. But I must say, I enjoyed the story of If You Want To Make God Laugh, even more. It was full of unique settings, unforgettable characters, and heart-breaking plots. I loved it!
What I Liked:
Setting:This book is set in South Africa in the 1990's. With the ending of Apartheid, the country is rapidly changing. Blacks are votingfor the first time, and the population is coming to grips with the atrocities of the oppressive regime of the past. Nelson Mandela is elected, and the AIDS epidemic is lurking in the background.
I appreciated the contrasts between the various communities of Blacks and Whites. Zodwa lived in a squatters camp, while just a few miles away sisters Ruth and Delilah basked in relative ease in their gated home. And later in the book, the differences between health care that Blacks and Whites received became a major plot point. These kinds of details created a sense of how the people of South Africa really lived during this tumultuous time.
Characters:
The sisters, Delilah and Ruth, couldn't be more different. Delilah, a former nun, has just retired from a life as an aid worker. She's led a seemingly saintly life, but she carries huge secrets from her past. Delilah, is wild! She's an infamous former stripper who has gone through husbands like tissue paper. Her addictive personality makes her sister highly skeptical when she suddenly wants to adopt a black baby.
I loved these characters. Both sisters have hidden scars that are slowly revealed over the course of the novel. I grew to truly care about these women, and rooted for them to repair their broken relationship.
Zodwa, the pregnant black teen, represents the untapped potential of the new South Africa, and the heart-breaking tragedy of how the AIDS epidemic will soon ravage that country. She works so hard to do all the right things, but is still a captive of traditional prejudices and thinking. Her fierce determination to find her baby is inspirational.
Dream Cast:
If there is a movie version of this, I hope these women are the stars:
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| Julianne Moore as Ruth |
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| Laura Linney as Delilah |
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| Lupita Nyong'o as Zodwa |
Story:
The story follows the sisters, Ruth and Delilah, as they find a black baby literally on their doorstep. This forces them to confront the jealousy, loss, and prejudices that haunt them. Can Ruth fully appreciate the implications of adopting a black baby when Apartheid has so recently been abolished? Will Delilah open her heart and support Ruth's journey?
Throughout the novel, Zodwa is on a journey to look for her baby. Along the way she must make hard choices in order to survive. This includes hiding her feelings for women by dating men, and taking menial jobs. She dreams of finishing high school and going to college. But her primary goal is searching for those she's lost, her brother, and her son. One thing I did not know previously about South Africa is that thousands of people went missing during Apartheid. Her search for answers was something that many families were doing.
Trigger Warning for Sexual Violence
Rating:
Release Date: July 16th, 2019
Author: Bianca Marais
Publisher: G.P. Putman's Sons
Page Length: 432 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Source: NetGalley
Format: E-Book
Recommendation: An emotional journey amidst the beginnings of a free South Africa. Full of wonderful characters with a complex story. This would be a great book club selection.
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