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Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Another Woman's Daughter by Fiona Sussman










Apartheid South Africa was never going to be an easy read.For the blacks it was a period of poverty, oppression and fear. Celia was the housemaid in a white household and she knew her place. She could be thrown out of her job at the whim of her white employers with no reference, and no residence permit and that would be the end of her. She had her children to think of and this is what made her put up with the endless work,above all the humiliating condescension she had to contend with.

When her employers came up with the idea of adopting her daughter, giving the girl a better life, it was not a suggestion. It was almost an order and the illiterate Celia put her mark on a paper giving away all her rights as a mother. She was given the impression that the girl would be brought regularly back to South Africa and that she will have some kind of contact with her.  This was not to be.  Whilst Celia faced the violence which was South Africa, Miriam faced her own battles in racist England and an increasing tension at home.

Deciding to find her roots with the scant information available to her, Miriam sets out on a very dangerous journey. Black though she is, she no longer fits into the South African scene and is not accepted by all her people back in South Africa. She does however finds out the reasons and rationale for her mother giving her away and in the process uncovers secrets long hidden.

Settings like this are not smooth, easy reads but they deliver always.  

This was a download from Edelweiss.

7 comments:

  1. Excellent review. This sounds like a worthy read.

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  2. I remember when Apartheid was still the law of the land in South Africa and was so happy when it ended. Of course, not all the issues have been resolved--and there's always new ones, there and in other places, that pop up.

    This sounds like a poignant book. I will have to look for this one.

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  3. Sounds like a tough situation, and most likely things like that happen today still. Thanks for bringing the book to the forefront.

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  4. This does sound like a tough read that delivers. I'm adding it to my wish list.

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  5. Hello, and many thanks for visiting my blog and commenting. I'm just so excited that you are from Sri Lanka and that apparently you are a great source of information regarding BOOKS! I so love books and am looking forward to reading your reviews - thank you.

    My brother and his wife are in SL right now! They are doing a month backpacking holiday and have been there about a week. (They are in their 60's and quite brave riding your local buses and hiring bikes without brakes, haha!). My SIL is e-mailing very colorful travelogues of their visit - they were in Habarana as of yesterday. They live in the south of France, however we are all English.

    I visited your beautiful Colombo in 2012 when on a cruise from Singapore to Dubai - here's the link to the post from that day - I loved it but found it so hot and humid which is why Iook so tired in the photo! It was a lovely day though and I would have loved more time to visit other places, especially the tea plantations and countryside.

    http://abreathoffreshair-mary.blogspot.com/2012/04/captains-message-as-we-head-to-sri.html

    Looking forward to reading your blog and hope you will visit me again - I don't usually write about underwear, haha!

    Mary - North Carolina, USA

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  6. You always read/review some "new to me" titles. I'm happy you are finding these gems as eGalleys and thanks for sharing them with us.

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