Hum if You Dont Know the Words Themes
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Hum if You Don't Know the Words by Bianca Marais (debut)
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Release Appointment: July eleven, 2017
Length: 432 pages
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{A Fleck of Backstory}
Single Sentence Summary
On a fateful solar day in June 1976, violence on the streets of Soweto forever entwines the lives of two about unlikely allies.
From the Publisher
Life nether Apartheid has created a secure future for Robin Conrad, a 10-year-former white girl living with her parents in 1970s Johannesburg. In the same nation but worlds apart, Beauty Mbali, a Xhosa adult female in a rural hamlet in the Bantu homeland of the Transkei, struggles to heighten her children alone after her married man's death. Both lives accept been built upon the division of race, and their meeting should never have occurred…until the Soweto Uprising…"
The Draw
- I read Built-in a Crime by Trevor Noah before this yr and considering of that was interested in reading more about Southward Africa under Apartheid.
- Favorable comparisons to The Help and The Underground Life of Bees .
- The premise of this debut really appealed to me.
{My Thoughts}
What Worked For Me
Build Up of Anticipation – Correct from the beginning, Hum if You Don't Know the Words builds suspense. What is going to happen to Robin'southward parents? Where is Dazzler'south daughter? How will their stories link? What happened to Nomsa? I would in no way classify the volume as a suspense novel, only at that place were just enough questions to really keep me engaged.
South African History Lesson – I similar to acquire from books and Hum if Y'all Don't Know the Words delivered on that forepart. On June 16, 1976, in response to a regime prescript requiring all black schools to teach Afrikaans (the linguistic communication associated with Apartheid) students in Soweto led a peaceful protest rally. That rally apace became tearing equally police intervened. Death counts range from 100-7oo with thousands injured. The insurgence marked the turning betoken in the fight to cease Apartheid and was what Bianca Marais used as the goad for her debut. Unknown to Beauty, her daughter acted as a leader in the rally and vanished in the violence. Ten-twelvemonth old Robin's parents were murdered that same evening. Throughout the book Marais gives glimpses into prejudice running rampant in Southward Africa, but as well the flipside: whites and blacks fighting for alter. She wisely used Robin to embody the change struggling to find footing in the South Africa.
"I didn't know what to say in a world where people were hated and attacked for not being the right color, not speaking the right language, non worshipping the correct god or non loving the right people; a earth where hatred was the common language, and bricks, the only words."
A Mother'southward Anguish – I loved Dazzler in this story. When she got word that her daughter might exist headed for trouble, Beauty made the difficult determination to leave her 2 sons, travel to Johannesburg, and bring Nomsa home. Later on the insurgence, Beauty used every resource she could to stay in Johannesburg and search for her missing daughter. The love and emotion surrounding Beauty were remarkable. When she gets discussion her daughter is being trained as a "liberty fighter," Beauty's struggle Non to come across Nomsa as a terrorist was heartbreaking; her anguish, palpable.
"…If we ever taste victory, will out fighters lower their fists and live in peace or will they ever be looking for the next conflict? I despair that we are all becoming murderers, white and black alike, and that nosotros will never exist able to wipe this blood from out hands. I pray that I am incorrect."
What Didn't
Cat – Robin had an imaginary friend, True cat. At outset this seemed endearing, but chop-chop got old for me. I understand Robin needed True cat subsequently her parents were killed, but True cat was there even before that happened and I'm but not sure why. I found the play betwixt Robin and Cat to be annoying.
Robin – Make no mistake, for the most part I really liked Robin. My middle went out to this poor girl trying to bravely acquit on under horrendous circumstances. All the same, in the last third of the volume, I felt like Robin's side of the story became too unrealistic. A couple of different incidents leading up to the volume'southward climax, I had a difficult time suspending my atheism of. Those were quickly followed by some valuable "lesson learning," on Robin'south function that was also difficult to swallow. Robin'southward wisdom seemed far, far beyond her years.
{The Last Assessment}
Despite seeing flaws in Robin, I really liked Hum if You Don't Know the Words. The strength of Dazzler's character fabricated up for any weaknesses in Robin'due south. I would have liked to see more than resolution in Beauty's story. It almost felt like Marais was leaving loose ends for a sequel. The book holds up well to comparisons with The Assist and The Hugger-mugger Life of Bees. If you liked those and would enjoy similar themes, just in a whole new setting so you should definitely add together Hum if You Don't Know the Words to your book list. Form: B
If you lot liked this book you lot might also enjoy:
- Built-in a Crime past Trevor Noah – The true story of Noah's childhood in the years before and after the end of Apartheid.(my review)
- The Secret Life of Bees past Sue Monk Kidd – This is another story of healing and the power of female friendships.
Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in commutation for my honest review.
Disclosure : There are Amazon Associate links included within this post.
Source: https://novelvisits.com/hum-dont-know-words-bianca-marais-review/
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