Perfect for readers of The Secret Life of Bees and The Help, a perceptive and searing look at Apartheid-era South Africa, told through one unique family brought together by tragedy.Life under Apartheid has created a secure future for Robin Conrad, a ten-year-old white girl living with her parents in 1970s Johannesburg. In the same nation but worlds apart, Beauty Mbali, a Xhosa woman in a rural … Mbali, a Xhosa woman in a rural village in the Bantu homeland of the Transkei, struggles to raise her children alone after her husband’s death. Both lives have been built upon the division of race, and their meeting should never have occurred…until the Soweto Uprising, in which a protest by black students ignites racial conflict, alters the fault lines on which their society is built, and shatters their worlds when Robin’s parents are left dead and Beauty’s daughter goes missing.
After Robin is sent to live with her loving but irresponsible aunt, Beauty is hired to care for Robin while continuing the search for her daughter. In Beauty, Robin finds the security and family that she craves, and the two forge an inextricable bond through their deep personal losses. But Robin knows that if Beauty finds her daughter, Robin could lose her new caretaker forever, so she makes a desperate decision with devastating consequences. Her quest to make amends and find redemption is a journey of self-discovery in which she learns the harsh truths of the society that once promised her protection.
Told through Beauty and Robin’s alternating perspectives, the interwoven narratives create a rich and complex tapestry of the emotions and tensions at the heart of Apartheid-era South Africa. Hum If You Don’t Know the Words is a beautifully rendered look at loss, racism, and the creation of family.
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n 1970s Johannesburg, race is everything, yet two people who are completely incompatible in apartheid-ruled South Africa are thrown together following the 1976 Soweto Uprising. After white police open fire on peacefully protesting black schoolchildren, 9-year-old Robin Conrad’s life is shattered when her parents are killed in the backlash. Meanwhile, Beauty Mbali’s daughter goes missing, and Beauty’s search for her coincidentally lands her a job as Robin’s caretaker. As time stretches on, Beauty grows to care deeply for this child she is being paid to “love,” and Robin, while fiercely possessive of Beauty, is keenly aware her parents wouldn’t approve of this relationship. Readers, take note: this didn’t grab me when I tried to read it on the Little League sidelines, but at home with a cup of tea it was engrossing.
The effects of apartheid in South Africa on a ten-year-old white girl whose parents are killed and a black woman searching for her daughter who has joined the revolution.
The effects of apartheid in South Africa on a ten-year-old white girl whose parents are killed and a black woman searching for her daughter who has joined the revolution.
This story stayed with me for a long time after I read it.
Wow, I truly enjoyed this story from beginning to end. The plot was built beautifully and I loved the characters. I was sorry it ended. Great book!
Marvelous writing. Stories of South Africa that were tangentially part of life during the author’s childhood. A part of history we could be ashamed of brought to light beautifully and painstakingly. Don’t miss this book. You won’t be sorry.
Historical fiction about those who were actually affected by the events that brought apartheid to an end.
hated for this book to end the wonderful exchange of cultures and personalities
made this an unforgettable story thought provoking in the best way
This very personal recollection of apartheid in every day living was touching and realistic. It was also a wonderful description of what it must feel like as a child to dissociate as a coping mechanism through experiences too painful to bear.
Set in South AFrica in the last decade of apartheid, this writer really makes you feel the pain and the sadnesses of that era. Sympathetic characters, good story.
I didn’t want the story to end, but I couldn’t put it down! The story is set against the volatile background of the Soweto uprising in 1977. Two characters who are apparently polar opposites – a black teacher from the Transkei, and a white miner’s daughter – discover that they have more in common than they could have thought. This is a story of human suffering and triumph.
Read cover to cover until I noticed it was 7 am! Certainly kept my interest.
Good coming of age book. Good character development.
This book was strong until the ending. i appreciated the information about life in South Africa during this tumultous period.
This was a very good read. Only in retrospect do I think it is more than a bit unrealistic, but I love the characters. I love their strengths and their flaws. No one is perfect here and it isn’t wrapped up neat and tidy at the end, but neat and tidy, while satisfying, is not realistic. Overall, I loved it and will read it again at some point.
I’m only about halfway through this book, but I have already recommended it to all of my friends. It’s the story of South Africa in the 1970s told from two perspectives: a 9-year old girl whose parents were killed by African rebels, and a black woman who is searching for her daughter. The woman (Beauty) did not know her daughter was a rebel, but now she has gone missing.
Both of these characters are so interesting that I hate to switch back and forth between them. I want to stick with each character as much as I want to know what’s happening to the other.
I can’t imagine that anything will change the way I feel about this book, and I’m sure I’ll be searching out other work by this author.
Well written and hard to put down. Also hard to read as it will tear you up emotionally. Why was/is the world like this? How does one fix generations of injustice and racism? No matter whether it’s South Africa, the United States or Europe. Teach your children well and take a long hard look at yourself.
Loved this book.The story is told in alternating chapters by the 2 main characters who tell the story from their perspective and your sympathies are therefore with both of them although they are actually on opposite sides in a conflict situation. The book is written with great sensitivity and compassion for the characters
I just couldn’t get into this book. Sorry… I would not recommend it.
What a wonderful book, so well written with a very engaging story line.
The story takes place in South Africa, during the Apartheid regime 1975-1976, also at the time of the Soweto uprising.
It is a story about differences, whether about race, color, sexual orientation or religion. It is also about similarities, in love, acceptance, trust and friendships, a story which is comprised of wonderful and engaging characters, who will make you feel many different feelings.
The main characters are Robin, a young white girl who has lost her parents and must go to live with her aunt in Johannesburg, and that of Beauty a smart black educator, who cannot find her daughter after the Soweto uprising. These two come together through each of their own needs, and a beautiful friendship is formed, yet also at times their fears get in the way.
This book besides its serious themes, has a lot of humor which had me laughing at times.
This book was hard to put down and these characters will stay with me for a long time.
I want to thank NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC of the book.