Book Review: If You Want to Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais
Book: 48/100
Rating: 4/5
Read this one if you like: historical fiction (set in South Africa) and strong-willed female characters.
Summary: In 1990s Johannesburg, in post-apartheid South Africa, three very different women are brought together in very unlikely circumstances. A pregnant Zodwa, 17, lives in poverty in a squatter camp and has many secrets of her own. Across the country, socialite Ruth and her sister Delilah (a disgraced former nun), are experiencing their own personal crises and decide to head back to their childhood home. When they discover an abandoned newborn baby at their doorstep, their lives change, including their lifelong beliefs about race, motherhood, and the power of the past.
Thoughts: This book is compulsively readable; every time I picked it up I ended up reading much more than I thought I would! It is so well written, and a powerful and engaging story. Ruth is an absolute delight, and I loved learning more about Delilah over the course of the book. Same with Zodwa - I really liked the dynamics between these three women and how their relationships played out.
There's a bit of a surprise at the end but I think overall the story wrapped up really well and I look forward to reading Marais' review, Hum If You Don't Know the Words.
Buy it/loan it/skip it? I'd lean toward loaning this one.
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