I absolutely adored it. I ploughed through it in one weekend. Emma van der Vliet has a very South African Olivia Goldsmith-ish way of writing, which I thought was simply superb. I didn’t actually realise that it was a South African novel (I didn’t read the back cover before I started) until I came across the word “kak”. Thereafter it was all references to Cape Town and the South African TV advertising industry, so it was undeniably local – but definitely of an international quality.
I immediately identified with both main female characters. I’ve been Beth. Working my first job in a seemingly-exciting industry. All bright-eyed with enthusiasm, ready to take on absolutely anything and plough myself 110% into what I was doing – to the detriment of my relationship and myself. I’ve been Alison. Control-freak, hardworking mother desperate to prove that just because I’m have procreated doesn’t mean my work will suffer or that I need help from anyone on anything. I’ve felt like I needed to prove myself, both as a woman and as a mother, in a male-dominated field. I’ve tried and failed dismally at the multi-tasking thing, and eventually come to the realisation that in order to be fair to myself and my family, something has to give. And it’s not them.
I’ve had the same relationship issues as both Beth and Alison. Experienced the same sets of temptations and self-doubts. Bouts of martyr-ism and the total fuck-ups that can result from taking your other half for granted. I’ve put myself in awkward positions simply because I’ve trusted people that I shouldn’t have. I’ve made assumptions where I should have asked questions. I have been these two women.
I laughed while reading this book. I cried, too. Tears of sadness and tears of relief. I’ve felt envy, embarrassment, shame and an entire sphere of emotions I don’t get to experience when I read Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels. I finished this book with both a sense of achievement – that I’d nailed it so quickly –and a sense of sadness – that it was done. That I wouldn’t be able to turn another page and read more about Beth and Alison’s lives.
This review originally appeared here.
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