#coffee and books
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venturing out, still not sure why it is so hard
Evening Primrose by Kopano Matlwa
Rating: 9/10
This was such an interesting read, I was honestly really pleasantly surprised by hw much I enjoyed this book. If you’ve been reading my review for a while, then you’ll know that the thing I hate about reading is expectation. If my expectations are too high because of a ‘hype’ then I’m always disappointed - so my outlook is to always go in with low expectation.
But this book really took me by surprise. I was kindly sent a copy of this book by Hodder & Stoughton, and I don’t know why, but I’m always a little hesitant when I get sent books by publishing companies and feel a lot of pressure to read them. But I decided that this would be one of my holiday reads…little did I realise that it would be so profound.
The novel is in the form of diary entries, so follows the life of the narrator from when she’s very young through into her adult life in South Africa - her education as a teenager, training as a doctor, her relationship with her mother. But most importantly, the novel also comments on a number of socio-political events and attitudes within South Africa.
Throughout the book there’s a lot of commentary on the divide within the community between light and dark skinned South Africans, as well as xenophobic attitudes towards individuals from North African countries and the discrimination that they face/faced.
There are so many interesting comments made throughout the novel, without giving too much of the novel’s plot away (as to prevent spoilers), its interesting to read about the inability to speak out against a majority view or ideology.
I became so engrossed in this book that I managed to start, and finish it in a matter of hours. Due to the length and layout of the book, it was very easy to just power read, but the cliff hangers and content also helped keep me hooked too.
I’m so so in love with this book and everything that it discusses and the way it brings taboo subjects into the forefront of narrative, you’d be a fool not to read it. Completely and utterly deserving of its 9/10 rating, Evening Primrose is a touching and thought provoking novel that will leave you completely stunned - a must read this summer.
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“Things change. And friends leave. Life doesn’t stop for anybody.”
― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
ig:amyyreadz
