ms_tiahmarie's reviews
1089 reviews

I have been told by my online book club that this was not the Trapido to begin with. The sentiment has been echoed by reviews on goodreads. I enjoyed the complex characters. But admit it didn't leave me gushing. Yet given I accidentally plunged into the author's work which assumed previous tastes, I am going to read (or try to get a hold of) another Trapido.

Rapid speed gun shot sentences echo the hurry-hurry anxious feel of suspense. Perhaps this is why I enjoyed this book, when many in the same genre turn me off. I don't like my suspense/ crime/ horror/ thriller / to echo the often meandering pace in Booker choices.

I've been hearing the debates on SA fiction, how the politics has been lost while the Krimi's cry out it hasn't, but that they are the only writers allowed to still play in this arena. Perhaps this is true. I keep hearing about the new South Africa, a post-racial South Africa. That the past is over. Yet, I see the men in blue riding in the back of the bakkie while a dog sits in front - day in and day out. Orford is the first I've come across in my 'contemporary SA reads' that was blunt enough to say, 'This STILL happens' and is not a practice fully relegated to the past.

I now understand so many SA writer's short story style - they are emulating Alice Munro. At least Alice Munro is good.

The UK's Jodi Picoult. A type of book I usually avoid because while I can deal with some depressing stuff - WHIPLASH!- these sort of tales mess with my head. The book got to me. Last night my Husband was eating ice cream and offered me a bite. I recoiled. Then I got my act together, reminded myself this was FICTION and had a nibble. Can't say I enjoyed it.

The press, and the UK press, can be vicious. Amanda Knox being labelled 'Foxy Knoxy' was sitting in the back of my mind the whole time while reading this book. I don't know if Amanda did the crime or not, but what was very clear was she was a young beautiful woman and being punished for being (or had been) unabashedly sexual. Like a man often is, but praised for.

This book is a wee bit more complicated because UK's age of consent is 16, which creates a haze. The myth of the seductress's powers against the can't-help-myself man still holds strong in popular news, books and mindsets. Just look at rape conviction numbers. The book sweeps along these uncomfortable lines and makes a chilling point.

I'm not sure if calling it is good is appropriate. But it can put you off ice cream.

The notes in the back make it worth it all on its own. Very good story even if it does not have an end. Kept wondering if she would have had the ability to write such a nuanced tale if she had known her fate.

On a side note, had to chuckle at the lad dressed in pink. Yet people keep telling me girls 'naturally' like pink and it has nothing to do with marketing.

Heard so much about Jong, but never read her. Her book is no longer shocking or revolutionary, which should hardly be surprising given it was published the year I was born. But what is depressing is how this book could be written now with very little changes and still be very topical and true. How far we have yet to come despite the years.

Quirky. Loved the section on Dickens.

The stories cover a diverse range of South Africa, written in a style similiar to Arja Salafranca. Quiet, the stories may be, they are not on quiet topics. Thus, the reader will be left to consider the stories long after they have been read.

On a personal note, was a both delighted and slightly shocked (and 'oh dear') to see a story where an Oxford Dictionary plays a central role. I had no idea that my own story, 'Bobby Brown,' was being very unoriginal. That said, Vandermerwe uses her in a much more Malcolm X fashion.

Fascinating story, but the writing is repetitive which left an inkling that it was padded to reach a word count. Still worth a read.

As if Bridget Jones got married, had a baby and became a disillusioned cynic. I mean this in a good way.