Bianca marais holds a certificate in creative writing from the university of torontos school of continuing studies, and her work has been published in world enough and crime. Hum if you dont know the words is a beautifully rendered look at loss, racism, and the creation of family. Putnums sons, new york, 2017 the novel brings together two unlikely people from different walks of life, during the oppressive apartheid regime in 1970s south africa. Tears, laughing out loud, rereading how thoughts were strung together. The paths of a young white girl and a black woman intersect when the violence of apartheid shatters both their lives. Hum if you dont know the words audiobook by bianca. A book club kit for hum if you dont know the words. Hum if you dont know the words by bianca marais debut publisher. Hum if you dont know the words kindle edition by marais. Kathy reyna i just finished hum if you dont know the.
Hum if you dont know the words hardcover copperfield. Hum if you dont know the words by bianca marais tells the story of an unlikely friendship following the 76 uprising, and violence that followed in soweto. Beautiful and tragic, intimate and sweeping, hum if you dont know the words is a gorgeous debut novel. Hum if you dont know the words hardcover andersons. Bianca marais creates characters with such love and compassion they nearly walk off the page. Set in johannesburg, marais debut novel centers on beauty mbali and 9yearold robin conrad, each of whom is impacted by the 1976 soweto uprising, in which white police officers opened fire on peacefully protesting black schoolchildren. Bianca marais hum if you dont know the words is an emotionally charged brick of dynamite. Set in south africa in 1978, this is the story of robin, a white child, and beauty, a black mother, both of whom experience immense loss.
The soweto uprising, gold mines, a white orphan with a black nanny named beautythese are among the motifs and characters of bianca maraiss radiant hum if you dont know the words, set in turbulent 1970s johannesburg. Perfect for readers of the secret life of bees and the help, a perceptive and searing look at apartheidera south africa, told through one unique family brought together by tragedy. July 11, 2017 the paths of a young white girl and a black woman intersect. Touching tribute to people who are very different but very much the same. Moving novel opens a window into south africas tortured. Tish cohen, bestselling author of town house and the truth about delilah blue. On a fateful day in june 1976, violence on the streets of soweto forever entwines the lives of two most unlikely allies. Other books in summer reading guide greatest hits happiness for beginners. Hum if you dont know the words paperback book passage. While much of the debut novel is an exploration of racial tensions and a girls comingofage, its also a stirring ode to a countrys painful maturation. Hum if you dont know the words paperback boswell book.
A perceptive and searing debut about apartheid south africa, as told through the story of one unique family brought together by tragedy. Hum if you dont know the words is a novel set in 197576 south africa, with the soweto uprising as the linchpin that brings the two main characters together and. From its intertwining of two what one might easily call, opposing narratives, to its. The following version of the book was used to create this guide. The secret life of bees set in johannesburg, now in paperback.