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Far and Beyon'
Far and Beyon’ tells the story of a Botswanan family’s struggle to cope with the devastatation of HIV and poverty. Reeling from the loss of a second son to AIDS, Mara turns to traditional magic to fight the curse she believes is destroying her family. Her children, Mosa and Stan, increasingly reject such beliefs, choosing instead to fight the powerlessness and oppression that have made the family so vulnerable to HIV. In the process, they must challenge adult authorities and scrutinize the ways in which they unwittingly consent to the forces that constrict them. "The Botswana of village life, of ceremony, of family, noise, rites of passage, love, tragedy, food, violence and kinship are gritty on the page. Dow writes this world the way men and women in her country sing--with a zest fed by connection to the earth and to a shared past ... She has Botswana’s dirt under her nails and is not anxious to scour it out." Morag Fraser, The Age "This is a novel for everyone ... embrac[ing] life in Botswana and the challenges involved in growing up, confronting adult hypocrisy, poverty, abuse and exploitation." Sheldon G. Weeks, Mail & Guardian Unity Dow is Botswana's first female high court judge and a long-time activist for women's rights and the rights of the poor. Explaining her choice to focus this, her first novel, on the AIDS crisis, Dow says, "I really could not have written a contemporary novel on Botswana without devoting a major part of it to AIDS. I can’t imagine a five-minute conversation about anything not somehow veering towards AIDS. If I invite guests to dinner, I can expect at least one to cancel at short notice because of a funeral or illness to attend to."
208 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 15, 2019
Botswana is the country having the largest number of HIV-positive people, immediately after Swaziland. In the 1990s, this had become a full-blown epidemic due to the lack of public discussion about sex, patriarchal and superstitious practices, and lack of education and awareness. This book is set during those times, the times when there was a funeral every weekend for the young and mighty that were dropping dead of AIDS. (In 2002, Botswana started an anti-AIDS program, which has brought down the infection rate and has completely changed the face of the country.)
Mara is a single mother who struggles to bring up her four children. When her two elder sons die because of AIDS, she refuses to accept the fact and turns to traditional healers and superstitious practices in the hope that it would bring her peace. Her third son has turned his back to her superstitions and her daughter is filled with anger at the patriarchal world she lives in. As Mara increasingly turns towards ineffective witchcraft, it destroys more than it mends. AIDS plays a big part in the story, showing how almost every family lost young people to it.
Another story track is that of Mosa and her fight against the rampant sexual abuse by teachers at school. Mosa is a budding feminist but she does not even know where to start. From girls having to work while the boys played and women having no rights to be heard in public council, or even to sit on a chair when men are present, and girls having to drop out of school if they get pregnant, Mosa lives in an intensely patriarchal world. Her worldview too is often shaped by the nonsense around her, even though she realises that something is wrong somewhere. But when she is harassed by a teacher at school, she finally decides to hit back.
Stan is an interesting character and is used to show that the Western education might not always be useful or acceptable for Botswana. But frankly, this story line was not explored much and there is not much information given on what alternatives there are. According to the story, there is none at all. The traditional practices are sexist and superstitious, meaning they are completely useless for true justice, especially when it comes to humans without penises.
The story structure was rather weak and some threads are not tied up properly. There were too many things explored - patriarchy, colonialism, abuse, superstition, the problem of AIDS, which is just too much to cram into a story of just about 200 pages. However, Dow's scenes come real and she appears to be a very talented writer. I found myself in much sympathy with Mosa, especially with the anger bubbling in the pit of her stomach, ready to blast out and burn the nearest person. Over the years, I too have felt that intense burning anger at watching other women submit to patriarchy, and even buying into it as 'culture'. I still do. I got angry reading this book.
The setting is rural and cattle is still wealth in this setting. Dow depicts the powerlessness of women in the system quite powerfully. There is nowhere for them to go. If an uncle abuses them, they are the ones sent away because the uncle has important family roles to perform. If they appeal to higher authorities, the men sitting there shoo them away. Dow herself is the first female judge at the Botswana High Court. Coming from a rural setting very much similar to the one depicted in the book, it was an uphill task for her to succeed. She obviously succeeded, and we leave the book hoping that Mosa too would go far and beyon'.
Mara is a single mother who struggles to bring up her four children. When her two elder sons die because of AIDS, she refuses to accept the fact and turns to traditional healers and superstitious practices in the hope that it would bring her peace. Her third son has turned his back to her superstitions and her daughter is filled with anger at the patriarchal world she lives in. As Mara increasingly turns towards ineffective witchcraft, it destroys more than it mends. AIDS plays a big part in the story, showing how almost every family lost young people to it.
Another story track is that of Mosa and her fight against the rampant sexual abuse by teachers at school. Mosa is a budding feminist but she does not even know where to start. From girls having to work while the boys played and women having no rights to be heard in public council, or even to sit on a chair when men are present, and girls having to drop out of school if they get pregnant, Mosa lives in an intensely patriarchal world. Her worldview too is often shaped by the nonsense around her, even though she realises that something is wrong somewhere. But when she is harassed by a teacher at school, she finally decides to hit back.
Stan is an interesting character and is used to show that the Western education might not always be useful or acceptable for Botswana. But frankly, this story line was not explored much and there is not much information given on what alternatives there are. According to the story, there is none at all. The traditional practices are sexist and superstitious, meaning they are completely useless for true justice, especially when it comes to humans without penises.
The story structure was rather weak and some threads are not tied up properly. There were too many things explored - patriarchy, colonialism, abuse, superstition, the problem of AIDS, which is just too much to cram into a story of just about 200 pages. However, Dow's scenes come real and she appears to be a very talented writer. I found myself in much sympathy with Mosa, especially with the anger bubbling in the pit of her stomach, ready to blast out and burn the nearest person. Over the years, I too have felt that intense burning anger at watching other women submit to patriarchy, and even buying into it as 'culture'. I still do. I got angry reading this book.
The setting is rural and cattle is still wealth in this setting. Dow depicts the powerlessness of women in the system quite powerfully. There is nowhere for them to go. If an uncle abuses them, they are the ones sent away because the uncle has important family roles to perform. If they appeal to higher authorities, the men sitting there shoo them away. Dow herself is the first female judge at the Botswana High Court. Coming from a rural setting very much similar to the one depicted in the book, it was an uphill task for her to succeed. She obviously succeeded, and we leave the book hoping that Mosa too would go far and beyon'.
July 30, 2024
Ik heb dit boek gelezen tijdens onze reis door Botswana. Botswana is een enorm mooi land met een prachtige natuur.
Maar achter die schoonheid schuilen problemen die Unity Dow via het verhaal van Mara en haar kinderen duidelijk maakt. Als toerist kijk je naar het schone en zie je de interne situatie van het land niet. Zoals het Aidsprobleem, de positie van de vrouw, kinderzwangerschappen en de spanning tussen de mentaliteiten van de stammen en de witten.
Door het boek te lezen in het land van het verhaal, krijg je het gevoel dat je meer beseft waarover je leest. Je ziet de mensen, huizen, dorpen… en kan zo een beeld scheppen.
Het boek leest vlot en is echt een aanrader als je via een verhalende manier meer te weten wilt komen over de sociale kwestie in Botswana.
Maar achter die schoonheid schuilen problemen die Unity Dow via het verhaal van Mara en haar kinderen duidelijk maakt. Als toerist kijk je naar het schone en zie je de interne situatie van het land niet. Zoals het Aidsprobleem, de positie van de vrouw, kinderzwangerschappen en de spanning tussen de mentaliteiten van de stammen en de witten.
Door het boek te lezen in het land van het verhaal, krijg je het gevoel dat je meer beseft waarover je leest. Je ziet de mensen, huizen, dorpen… en kan zo een beeld scheppen.
Het boek leest vlot en is echt een aanrader als je via een verhalende manier meer te weten wilt komen over de sociale kwestie in Botswana.
June 28, 2025
I don’t think this book has gotten the flowers that it deserves. Honestly, this book needs to be studied in curricula over the world.
July 5, 2024
Far and Beyon’ is a highly effective and interesting book. The main theme is the impact that the HIV epidemic and family violence have in rural Botswana. It also deals with generational differences, as in the story, an illiterate mother Mara turns to mystics and magic to fight the enemy she thinks has killed her husband and her two sons. The remaining children – daughter Mosa and son Stan – understand that the problem is much bigger than just an evil spirit. The culturally narrow place for women, and the pressures of cultural practices and customs are explored not only through Mara, but above all in the story of Mosa who tries to find a way to balance embracing culture and tradition, while rejecting the repressive and abusive forms within her culture. Present in the narrative is also a strong thematic concern surrounding the abuse of power between those who have it and those who do not; as an example, Unity illustrates how ‘christianised’ western education, considered superior, is preached by teachers who then sexually abuse their female students, leading to an increase in the spread of AIDS.
I read this book as part of our project Virtual Nomad that explores and celebrates food, writing, cinema and music from different countries. www.myvirtualnomad.com
I read this book as part of our project Virtual Nomad that explores and celebrates food, writing, cinema and music from different countries. www.myvirtualnomad.com
January 30, 2022
Ik had zowat het volledige werk van Alexander McCall Smith gelezen, maar vond dat toch niet representatief voor mijn literaire wereldtournee... en zo kwam ik terecht bij Unity Dow.
Wat een contrast, ook al zijn al die werken ongeveer rond dezelfde periode geschreven en gepubliceerd. Maar van het luchtige, vrolijke van McCall Smith is er bij Unity Dow absoluut niets terug te vinden. Dit werk gaat over botsende culturen, over schandelijke en gewelddadige onderdrukking van de vrouw, over opstand van de jongere generatie tegen de aloude stamtradities, over verwarring... de wens om ouders en traditie te respecteren tegenover het niet aanvaarden van paternalisme, verdrukking, geweld, lijfstraffen, verkrachting... en dat allemaal tegen een achtergrond van de dreiging van AIDS en andere ziektes.
Dit boek is niet echt een verhaal op zich, het is eerder een verzameling van situaties, momentopnames, verhalen die samen tegelijkertijd een schets zijn van de deplorabele toestand in Botswana, maar tegelijkertijd ook een hoop geven op een betere toekomst voor het land, maar vooral voor de vrouw in dat land.
Wat een contrast, ook al zijn al die werken ongeveer rond dezelfde periode geschreven en gepubliceerd. Maar van het luchtige, vrolijke van McCall Smith is er bij Unity Dow absoluut niets terug te vinden. Dit werk gaat over botsende culturen, over schandelijke en gewelddadige onderdrukking van de vrouw, over opstand van de jongere generatie tegen de aloude stamtradities, over verwarring... de wens om ouders en traditie te respecteren tegenover het niet aanvaarden van paternalisme, verdrukking, geweld, lijfstraffen, verkrachting... en dat allemaal tegen een achtergrond van de dreiging van AIDS en andere ziektes.
Dit boek is niet echt een verhaal op zich, het is eerder een verzameling van situaties, momentopnames, verhalen die samen tegelijkertijd een schets zijn van de deplorabele toestand in Botswana, maar tegelijkertijd ook een hoop geven op een betere toekomst voor het land, maar vooral voor de vrouw in dat land.
April 25, 2021
This novel is an interesting glimpse into a different world. I didn’t know much about Botswana before so it was very interesting to find out what kind of life and problems people have there.
The book is very short and there are too many topics in it, which results in them being treated superficially. The main focus is on one family dealing with personal loss due to the AIDS epidemic, but we also learn about gender issues, sexual and domestic abuse, helplessness, clashes of cultures, the education system, emigration to South Africa and the stigma on women due to the illegality of abortion.
It’s just too much on 200 pages. I wish certain themes were explored more. I feel perhaps it’s just not the best book by this author who clearly has a lot of compassionate and striking opinions about many things.
I also felt that the resolution of the main narrative, given all the problems presented was slightly naive. Hopeful, but in a way that strikes the reader as unrealistic.
The book is very short and there are too many topics in it, which results in them being treated superficially. The main focus is on one family dealing with personal loss due to the AIDS epidemic, but we also learn about gender issues, sexual and domestic abuse, helplessness, clashes of cultures, the education system, emigration to South Africa and the stigma on women due to the illegality of abortion.
It’s just too much on 200 pages. I wish certain themes were explored more. I feel perhaps it’s just not the best book by this author who clearly has a lot of compassionate and striking opinions about many things.
I also felt that the resolution of the main narrative, given all the problems presented was slightly naive. Hopeful, but in a way that strikes the reader as unrealistic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2025
Hmmmm so. this touches on SO many issues (AIDs, tradition, Western influence, feminism, access to education, etc) in such a heavy handed way. dialogue wld be so unrealistic, like close family members delivering full paragraphs giving voice to different takes on a cultural issue. so literal. It also felt specifically like it was written for outsiders to understand Botswanan culture. i both very much benefitted from this heavyhandedness as an outsider and also thought this limited its effectiveness as a novel . because it’s giving Ethnography. But 3 stars for me literally enjoying reading it.
August 26, 2022
This story centers Mara, a mother of four - two of whom have died of AIDS, a daughter who became pregnant and a son as well as a granddaughter of one of her dead sons. The story depicts a Botswanan village and the line between traditional cures and medicine when it comes to dealing with death, barrenness, AIDS, pregnancy, illness and life. Simply written yet evocative we follow Mara and her daughter Mosa as they navigate being women in this society.
December 15, 2025
I read this book for my reading-of-the-world project (Botswana). It is heartachingly beautiful and thought provoking. Nominally, it is about a family dealing with the AIDS crisis in Botswana. But it is also about tensions between traditional and modern medicine, about indigenous culture and white colonialism, about generational differences, and about despair and hope. It is everything I wanted from a book when I started this reading project. Read it.
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October 10, 2020The latest entry for The Africa Book Challenge, Far and Beyon' by Unity Dow for Botswana has been posted.
Click on the URL on the profile page to learn more about this novel centering on a family's grief and transformation after a mother loses two of her sons to AIDS and her two surviving children try to forge a better life for themselves.
Click on the URL on the profile page to learn more about this novel centering on a family's grief and transformation after a mother loses two of her sons to AIDS and her two surviving children try to forge a better life for themselves.
February 29, 2020
Far and Beyon’ deals with the aftermath of HIV/AIDS: what happens when people are dying, when the ones who are left behind believe in traditional rituals more than in modern medicine? HIV/AIDS is portrayed as a regularity of life, one that no one in particular is to blame for.
Although I can see the value of this book and found the descriptions of rituals and traditional beliefs fascinating, the story couldn’t quite grab me. The characters were, at first, difficult to tell apart and it took me about a third of the book to get everyone’s position in the family firmly in my head. It could be that I was just inattentive in the beginning, but during the first part (the funeral) all the characters seemed to fade into each other quite easily. This changes around the time of the cleansing ritual, in which the four main characters of the book – Mara, Mosa, Stan, and Nunu – become more pronounced.
The book ends with a message about empowerment, as well as with hope – hope for a future in which women speak up for themselves, and in which they are not punished for having female bodies.
Although I can see the value of this book and found the descriptions of rituals and traditional beliefs fascinating, the story couldn’t quite grab me. The characters were, at first, difficult to tell apart and it took me about a third of the book to get everyone’s position in the family firmly in my head. It could be that I was just inattentive in the beginning, but during the first part (the funeral) all the characters seemed to fade into each other quite easily. This changes around the time of the cleansing ritual, in which the four main characters of the book – Mara, Mosa, Stan, and Nunu – become more pronounced.
The book ends with a message about empowerment, as well as with hope – hope for a future in which women speak up for themselves, and in which they are not punished for having female bodies.
July 29, 2016
This book was an eye-opener for me, not only because of the attitudes towards AIDS and HIV, but also because of the persistence of magic and ritual as a means of solving problems in this day and age. The villagers in this novel are trapped in a way of thinking and rituals that binds them to the past and keeps them from moving forward and finding new solutions to problems. Mosa and her brother, having been educated and having been introduced to Western concepts, can see that there are other ways to look at things and to resolve problems, but they have great difficulty convincing their elders of this. It's no wonder that change for women in Africa has come so slowly. The novel demonstrates how critical education is in overcoming the spread of HIV in Africa.
I loved the character of Mosa. She held her head up despite her problems, and was rewarded by her determination to succeed. She used legal methods to overcome the problem of sexual harassment at school (you can tell that the author is in the legal profession!). I would like to see this book become a standard in any world literature class, along with Allan Stratton's Chanda's Secret. Highly recommended!!
I loved the character of Mosa. She held her head up despite her problems, and was rewarded by her determination to succeed. She used legal methods to overcome the problem of sexual harassment at school (you can tell that the author is in the legal profession!). I would like to see this book become a standard in any world literature class, along with Allan Stratton's Chanda's Secret. Highly recommended!!
May 2, 2016
Far and Beyon' is a quiet novel in many ways, and a beautiful one as well. The character Mosa, who seems to be secondary in some ways to her mother's character, is such a remarkable young girl. The best parts of the novel centre around her relationship with her brother Stan after the death of their two other siblings to AIDS. What's so powerful and so interesting is the way this girl grows after witnessing these familial deaths. Her voice is a strong critique of the education system that both she and her brother are subject to. And they're trapped: there are so few choices for them. They can get a neo-colonial foreign, Christianised education in modern-day Botswana that calls into question all of their traditions and values or they can get an education with lecherous teachers who corner young girls and force them into having sex with them, one of the many ways AIDS spreads so quickly through the society. AIDS is actually the more dominant theme, but I just adore the way young Mosa becomes a strong young girl who stands up to the education system and all those complicit in its current form. She's a wonderful role model for young women!
December 3, 2015
I counted this book for AFRICA: Botswana for the 666 for 2015 - An Around the World Reading Challenge .
I really enjoyed this book, although at the beginning there is a rush of characters and it almost feels like you'll be unable to decipher them all going forward.
This was certainly an eye-opening book for me, with regards to the attitude towards AIDS and acceptance and disregard of the treatment of young schoolgirls.
For those reasons its hard to believe that this coming of age story has some feel good moments, but it does.
The underlining strength of the story is family and it truly sweeps you into feeling a true connection to your own views on womens' rights.
I really enjoyed this book, although at the beginning there is a rush of characters and it almost feels like you'll be unable to decipher them all going forward.
This was certainly an eye-opening book for me, with regards to the attitude towards AIDS and acceptance and disregard of the treatment of young schoolgirls.
For those reasons its hard to believe that this coming of age story has some feel good moments, but it does.
The underlining strength of the story is family and it truly sweeps you into feeling a true connection to your own views on womens' rights.
February 21, 2015
A good coming of age type story, it's an interesting look at another culture and another places literature (besides British lit.). It may take a little while to get used to how language is used to describe things (marriage proposals involve families discussing a "water gourd with cracks" in it) but it quickly becomes charming. The ending is good, though a little vague on a few details that i would like to have had cleared up. Over all, this is an amazing book and i highly recommend it.
November 9, 2010
hard to read, literary treatment of modern Botswana, the AIDS death scythe, and the clash between old traditional medicine and customs and the new modern world. author is the first woman high court judge in botswana. she is also very involved in womens' rights and the intersection of traditional and modern life conflicts.
November 23, 2010
This was a highly-readable yet eye-opening story about Botswana. It touches the very real issues of the AIDS epidemic and the inequalities faced by women. Yet at its core, this book is about a family and the bonds that hold them together in a changing world.
December 21, 2015
A fascinating read about Botswana, AIDS, and traditional magic vs. Western medicine. This book is written by a badass Motswana who was the first female High Court Judge in Botswana and can tell a great story.
August 20, 2019
Unity Dow brings the customs and beliefs of traditional Batswana culture to life in this highly informative and hopeful story about grief, struggle, and refusal to submit in a societal landscape systematically disadvantageous to women, both in its modern and traditional spheres.
Read
March 27, 2011I enjoyed reading it.It enlightened me about the Batswana culture.Its a very intreasting book.
Want to read
December 1, 2009Recommended reading from a friend living in Botswana.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews