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Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night
Book by Magona, Sindiwe
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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About the author
Sindiwe Magona
61 books88 followersSindiwe Magona is a South African writer.
Magona is a native of the former Transkei region. She grew up in Bouvlei near Cape Town, where she worked as a domestic and completed her secondary education by correspondence. Magona later graduated from the University of South Africa and earned her Masters of Science in Organisational Social Work from Columbia University.
She starred as Singisa in the isiXhosa classic drama Ityala Lamawele.
She worked in various capacities for the United Nations for over 20 years, retiring in 2003.
In the 2013 computer-animated adventure comedy film Khumba she was the voice actor for the character Gemsbok Healer.
She is Writer-in-Residence at the University of the Western Cape and has been a visiting Professor working at Georgia State University.
Magona is a native of the former Transkei region. She grew up in Bouvlei near Cape Town, where she worked as a domestic and completed her secondary education by correspondence. Magona later graduated from the University of South Africa and earned her Masters of Science in Organisational Social Work from Columbia University.
She starred as Singisa in the isiXhosa classic drama Ityala Lamawele.
She worked in various capacities for the United Nations for over 20 years, retiring in 2003.
In the 2013 computer-animated adventure comedy film Khumba she was the voice actor for the character Gemsbok Healer.
She is Writer-in-Residence at the University of the Western Cape and has been a visiting Professor working at Georgia State University.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 20, 2019
متتالية قصصية أو مجموعة قصص قصيرة منفصلة بريطها خيط درامي واحد وهو تجسيد معاناة النساء ذوي البشرة السمراء في جنوب أفريقيا أثناء فترة التمييز العنصري
القصة الأولى نرى فيها أم تهرب من أطفالها الخمسة وقريتها الفقيرة بحثاً عن مستقبل أفضل لأولادها، تعمل خادمة لدى أمرأة بيضاء لتتوالي بعدها سرد قصص مجموعة من النساء المضطهدات مثلها .. بشكل عام القصص مكتوبة برهافة عالية ومليئة بالمشاعر وتصور العنصرية في أسوأ صورها، لكن الحبكات لم تكن قوية من وجهة نظري وهناك استطراد لا طائل منه في بعض القصص
القصة الأولى نرى فيها أم تهرب من أطفالها الخمسة وقريتها الفقيرة بحثاً عن مستقبل أفضل لأولادها، تعمل خادمة لدى أمرأة بيضاء لتتوالي بعدها سرد قصص مجموعة من النساء المضطهدات مثلها .. بشكل عام القصص مكتوبة برهافة عالية ومليئة بالمشاعر وتصور العنصرية في أسوأ صورها، لكن الحبكات لم تكن قوية من وجهة نظري وهناك استطراد لا طائل منه في بعض القصص
December 28, 2018
“My great hope for African women is that one day they will come into their own. That is why I chose to write” Sindiwe Magona
Sindiwe Magona started her writing career in her late 40s. In an interview she says that in the late 1980s she realised there were very few black women writers in South Africa (she counted 5 at the time) and she recalls being angry that other people were writing about what she and her people were going through. She decided that she must bear witness. You can find the interview in the Feminist Africa journal issue 13 (2009).
This is a powerful collection of short stories which illustrate the experience of black women under the apartheid regime. They are written with strength and humour, but they have a very sharp edge and depict hope and tragedy in equal measure. Some are bleak and heart-breaking. There is a great (but controlled) ferocity in the anger at the injustice being described.
The first group of stories are about a group of maids who work in domestic service in the homes of white South Africans. It reminded me a little of The Help, but much more powerful. Each of the group of maids speaks and imparts some of the particular habits of their own “Medem”. This is clearly written from experience, as Magona worked in domestic service when she was young.
The rest of the stories are more diverse, but are all centred on Cape Town. Magone writes her characters really well, making it easier to highlight the systematic brutality of apartheid without having to put the political arguments into their mouths. This is well illustrated by the last story about the abolition of the pass laws (which occurred a little before the fall of the regime), when a family who are celebrating are pulled up by the mother of the family who tells a story which illustrates that the pass laws are merely a symptom; the roots of the injustice still exist. Magone is also very good at portraying children. She also tackles the issue of the abuse of women and how deep-rooted it is; a point she emphasizes in the interview I mentioned earlier.
“The abuse of women is linked to our broken-ness, our de-basedness. I don’t know why we thought that just because we could vote in 1994, the de-basedness would vanish. The psychological wounding of racism and of the accompanying sexism will take a long time to heal. But we have to begin that journey.”
When you read a great deal it takes something special to take your breath away and to shock (not in a negative way), but a couple of these stories ae truly harrowing. This is a great collection of stories that deserve to be read and to be better known.
Sindiwe Magona started her writing career in her late 40s. In an interview she says that in the late 1980s she realised there were very few black women writers in South Africa (she counted 5 at the time) and she recalls being angry that other people were writing about what she and her people were going through. She decided that she must bear witness. You can find the interview in the Feminist Africa journal issue 13 (2009).
This is a powerful collection of short stories which illustrate the experience of black women under the apartheid regime. They are written with strength and humour, but they have a very sharp edge and depict hope and tragedy in equal measure. Some are bleak and heart-breaking. There is a great (but controlled) ferocity in the anger at the injustice being described.
The first group of stories are about a group of maids who work in domestic service in the homes of white South Africans. It reminded me a little of The Help, but much more powerful. Each of the group of maids speaks and imparts some of the particular habits of their own “Medem”. This is clearly written from experience, as Magona worked in domestic service when she was young.
The rest of the stories are more diverse, but are all centred on Cape Town. Magone writes her characters really well, making it easier to highlight the systematic brutality of apartheid without having to put the political arguments into their mouths. This is well illustrated by the last story about the abolition of the pass laws (which occurred a little before the fall of the regime), when a family who are celebrating are pulled up by the mother of the family who tells a story which illustrates that the pass laws are merely a symptom; the roots of the injustice still exist. Magone is also very good at portraying children. She also tackles the issue of the abuse of women and how deep-rooted it is; a point she emphasizes in the interview I mentioned earlier.
“The abuse of women is linked to our broken-ness, our de-basedness. I don’t know why we thought that just because we could vote in 1994, the de-basedness would vanish. The psychological wounding of racism and of the accompanying sexism will take a long time to heal. But we have to begin that journey.”
When you read a great deal it takes something special to take your breath away and to shock (not in a negative way), but a couple of these stories ae truly harrowing. This is a great collection of stories that deserve to be read and to be better known.
February 21, 2019
STOP WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING AND READ THIS FUCKING BOOK. BLACK EXCELLENCE AT ITS FINEST! I rarely give all-encompassing recommendations but I genuinely think everyone should read this collection of short stories by Sindiwe Magona.
Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night is split in two: the first part consists of a cycle of nine short stories, each exploring the lives and thoughts of black maids in a small South African town; the second part consists of eight other short stories, detailing Xhosa culture, what it means to attain womanhood in a society where patriarchy and apartheid often degrade and enslave women economically, domestically, politically, traditionally and sexually.
Sindiwe Magona is a South African storyteller, motivational speaker and teacher. It's mind-boggling to me that I have never heard of her before, and that her sublime short stories collected dust on my mom's bookshelf for years. On the one hand, it's always special to find little gems like this, but on the other hand, I am just appalled that almost no one seems to know her and/or talk about her. She deserves so much more recognition. Ugh. I'm going to shove her onto people from now on.
Her writings tell of an impoverished childhood in South Africa and of her personal and political struggles as a black woman living under apartheid. She obtained her matric by correspondence as a single parent, mother of three and domestic servant with no fixed home. She graduated with a BA degree from the University of South Africa as well as a Master of Science Degree in Organisational Social Work from Columbia University.
Magona's collection of superb short stories brings a full range of South African women's experience brilliantly to light. From the village mother leaving her children to work to the maid in service to the white madam, the stories are at once tragic, triumphant, humorous, and sharp, but above all forcefully empowering.
After reading the first short story, I was still very skeptical. I didn't know where Magona was going with her narrative and I didn't understand the actions of our main protagonist, Atini. My annotation literally said: Why the heck did she leave her children??? And then, with the subsequent eight short stories, Sindiwe just snatched my wig and showed me what a privileged ass I am, that I was unable, at first, to see and comprehend why and how Atini was forced to leave her children to support them financially, since her husband ain't doing shit.
Anyways, the main reason why the first cycle of short stories what absolutely magical (and will probably make my TOP BOOKS OF 2018—yes, I'm calling it here!) is the way it is structured: In the first story, Magona introduces Atini and shows her difficult decision of leaving her children. Then follow seven short stories, each showcasing another maid's individual struggle. They are written as conversations with Atini and said maids.
However, Atini didn't speak that much, which is why you as a reader feel like you're having all of these conversations yourself. Magona really managed to make you feel as if you were the new maid in town, and had to get to know everybody. It was fascinating and brilliantly executed. Like I said, I am still highkey shook, even months after reading this!
The cycle ends with the ninth story, which collects Atini's reflection. Her conclusion is bleak but true:
We get to know angry women, sarcastic women, defeated women, oblivious women, naive women, ambitious women, kind women. Black women in all of their shapes and forms. I have never read fiction that was centered exclusively on the Black woman's experience. I could cry, it was beautiful!
Magona discusses the competition and tension within Black communities, especially when it came down to job offers and reputation, but also the fact that Black maids would rather serve white ladies than Black ladies, since the shame was higher in the latter case. She also tells us the story of Black women supporting one another and making it bearable to live and toil, day in, day out.
In general, the social commentary in this cycle is just top-notch. Magona doesn't fail to address the hypocrisy of the White Christian Church. "Practice what they preach" doesn't really happen there, amirite? She showcases how ridiculous it is for Black maids to look after their white medem's children, while not having time to look after their own damn children.
Reading Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night was such a unique experience, I will never forget it. It fortified my resolution of reading more from African writers. I'm in dire need of all the new perspectives and thoughts they bring to the table. Please give Magona a go, you won't regret it!
Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night is split in two: the first part consists of a cycle of nine short stories, each exploring the lives and thoughts of black maids in a small South African town; the second part consists of eight other short stories, detailing Xhosa culture, what it means to attain womanhood in a society where patriarchy and apartheid often degrade and enslave women economically, domestically, politically, traditionally and sexually.
Sindiwe Magona is a South African storyteller, motivational speaker and teacher. It's mind-boggling to me that I have never heard of her before, and that her sublime short stories collected dust on my mom's bookshelf for years. On the one hand, it's always special to find little gems like this, but on the other hand, I am just appalled that almost no one seems to know her and/or talk about her. She deserves so much more recognition. Ugh. I'm going to shove her onto people from now on.
Her writings tell of an impoverished childhood in South Africa and of her personal and political struggles as a black woman living under apartheid. She obtained her matric by correspondence as a single parent, mother of three and domestic servant with no fixed home. She graduated with a BA degree from the University of South Africa as well as a Master of Science Degree in Organisational Social Work from Columbia University.
Magona's collection of superb short stories brings a full range of South African women's experience brilliantly to light. From the village mother leaving her children to work to the maid in service to the white madam, the stories are at once tragic, triumphant, humorous, and sharp, but above all forcefully empowering.
After reading the first short story, I was still very skeptical. I didn't know where Magona was going with her narrative and I didn't understand the actions of our main protagonist, Atini. My annotation literally said: Why the heck did she leave her children??? And then, with the subsequent eight short stories, Sindiwe just snatched my wig and showed me what a privileged ass I am, that I was unable, at first, to see and comprehend why and how Atini was forced to leave her children to support them financially, since her husband ain't doing shit.
Anyways, the main reason why the first cycle of short stories what absolutely magical (and will probably make my TOP BOOKS OF 2018—yes, I'm calling it here!) is the way it is structured: In the first story, Magona introduces Atini and shows her difficult decision of leaving her children. Then follow seven short stories, each showcasing another maid's individual struggle. They are written as conversations with Atini and said maids.
However, Atini didn't speak that much, which is why you as a reader feel like you're having all of these conversations yourself. Magona really managed to make you feel as if you were the new maid in town, and had to get to know everybody. It was fascinating and brilliantly executed. Like I said, I am still highkey shook, even months after reading this!
The cycle ends with the ninth story, which collects Atini's reflection. Her conclusion is bleak but true:
What is hell? I know it because I am here. I know it because all these women tell me they are here. Yes, the words are different—some are angry words and others are sad and sorry words. I have even heard words of praise. But, deep down, all the words tell the same story. We are slaves in the white women's kitchens.Booooy! Talk about pulling a punch, Magona really wasn't fucking around. Jumping between delicious gossip shared between two maids and heart-felt conversations, she tells us the stories of abortions, sterilizations, and having to endure sexual abuse in order to keep your work place. She tells of terrible working conditions, low wages, being constantly met with ungratitude from all sides.
We get to know angry women, sarcastic women, defeated women, oblivious women, naive women, ambitious women, kind women. Black women in all of their shapes and forms. I have never read fiction that was centered exclusively on the Black woman's experience. I could cry, it was beautiful!
Magona discusses the competition and tension within Black communities, especially when it came down to job offers and reputation, but also the fact that Black maids would rather serve white ladies than Black ladies, since the shame was higher in the latter case. She also tells us the story of Black women supporting one another and making it bearable to live and toil, day in, day out.
In general, the social commentary in this cycle is just top-notch. Magona doesn't fail to address the hypocrisy of the White Christian Church. "Practice what they preach" doesn't really happen there, amirite? She showcases how ridiculous it is for Black maids to look after their white medem's children, while not having time to look after their own damn children.
They think watching their children is easy; they think it is peanut butter or jam; it is not work. That’s what they think. Shows you how much they know their children.We see a clear generational conflict, we see the younger maids wanting to better their lives by organizing support groups and boycotts, by wanting to study and leave this godforsaken town for good. Joyce's chapter was probably my favorite. Joyce was one of the younger maids who wanted to become a doctor. She was also hella feminist and full of truth!
Mornings, see all the women in their uniforms taking white children to school. What a sight; until you ask yourself who takes the black children to school.
Feminism in this country has been retarded, in part, by this paternalistic attitude of white women towards black women. How can I be a sister to my father, the white woman?I AM SHOOKETH TO MY CORE. Magona wrote this in 1991 btw, how have I not heard of her before??? Ahhh, gotta love me an intersectional feminist who isn't afraid to spit some truth. Wig? Snatchedddd.
The time the white woman is given by the black woman who works for her, that time is more than money; it is freedom to the white woman: freedom to become whatever she would become. And she fails to see her indebtedness to the black maid who asks for so little in return: freedom from want, fair wage for sweat.
Reading Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night was such a unique experience, I will never forget it. It fortified my resolution of reading more from African writers. I'm in dire need of all the new perspectives and thoughts they bring to the table. Please give Magona a go, you won't regret it!
November 12, 2011
Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night is a collection of short stories divided into two parts. The first part is a circle of related, gossipy black South African women working as domestic servants for whites. The pieces emphasize the diverse personalities of each woman, and are written in first person in a conversation with one of the other women. The second part encompasses several common short stories set in the 60s through the late 80s, during the Apartheid system in South Africa. The stories are depressing, often heartbreaking, and powerful.
4 Stars
4 Stars
June 8, 2022
Why do I enjoy sad books? As heartbreaking as this collection of short stories is, it’s definitely the best thing I’ve read all year. I didn’t expect to enjoy it but the stories of domestic workers sucked me into their verisimilitude. That was Part 1. Part 2 explores other apartheid era complications such as pass laws and migrant labour. Femicide is also thematised in at least 1 story in the 2nd part of the book. Even though I prefer novels to short stories, I do not dispute this book’s status as one Africa’s 100 best books. It is well deserved.
April 25, 2018
This collection of linked/related short stories focuses on the lives of Black women in South Africa during the time of apartheid. They provide a glimpse into the lives of people whose voices were often silenced and whose realities were often removed from what we see in the media. At times heartbreaking, at other times inspiring -- but always thought provoking, I'd recommend this if you appreciate glimpses behind closed doors and are willing to grapple with the ugly truths of racism and apartheid.
July 10, 2016
A great entry into modern African fiction and the apartheid system. Readers can easily draw comparisons between Part One and The Help.
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge | Task 3: Short Stories
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge | Task 3: Short Stories
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August 8, 2019Not always an easy read, but well worth it.
April 25, 2022
Half of this book is a fairly traditional collection of short stories, and the other half is a collection of monologues by characters who work as "domestics" in wealthy white households. I love the stylistic experimentation in this latter half; characters appear and reappear across pieces, are presented first one way and then another by different people with different sets of facts. The diverse voices and backgrounds of the women allow a holistic, nuanced view of the profession and its attendant hardships—the inequality, despair, and exploitation are just as vivid as the hope and camaraderie.
My favourite story is "Flight," in which a girl watches a new wife or soon-to-be-wife running away from her village and into the early morning mist. We don't know why she's fleeing, or where she's fleeing to, all we see is this beautiful short scene of a woman escaping her pursuers and being engulfed by the glittering fog.
Magona's voice, both tender and biting, is ever-present here. More than anything, so many of these stories are crushingly sad. Women raped, children killed, men toiling away for months in the mines; all of this forms a sort of backdrop of anguish as people go about their daily lives in Cape Town and its satellite districts.
Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night is absolutely worth a read, and I hope to get my hands on more of Magona's work in the future.
___________________
Global Challenge: South Africa
My favourite story is "Flight," in which a girl watches a new wife or soon-to-be-wife running away from her village and into the early morning mist. We don't know why she's fleeing, or where she's fleeing to, all we see is this beautiful short scene of a woman escaping her pursuers and being engulfed by the glittering fog.
Magona's voice, both tender and biting, is ever-present here. More than anything, so many of these stories are crushingly sad. Women raped, children killed, men toiling away for months in the mines; all of this forms a sort of backdrop of anguish as people go about their daily lives in Cape Town and its satellite districts.
Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night is absolutely worth a read, and I hope to get my hands on more of Magona's work in the future.
___________________
Global Challenge: South Africa
February 11, 2023
I love a good short story collection, but this I wasn't great.
Living, Loving, and Lying Awake at Night by Sindiwe Magona is a collection about the daily life of South Africans, partically Black South African women and girls during apartheid.
I love the title, and the first half of the collection was interesting. This section was about Black domestic workers. It was conversational and humorous. This section really made me feel like I was there, drinking tea and speaking with the characters.
While, the second half of the collection was filled with a lot of traumatic stories. Which made it hard for me to want to continue reading the book. It's particially my fault though, the back cover mentions SA and other violence, but I didn't see that when I picked it up at a used bookstore. I'll be more careful next time.
Living, Loving, and Lying Awake at Night by Sindiwe Magona is a collection about the daily life of South Africans, partically Black South African women and girls during apartheid.
I love the title, and the first half of the collection was interesting. This section was about Black domestic workers. It was conversational and humorous. This section really made me feel like I was there, drinking tea and speaking with the characters.
While, the second half of the collection was filled with a lot of traumatic stories. Which made it hard for me to want to continue reading the book. It's particially my fault though, the back cover mentions SA and other violence, but I didn't see that when I picked it up at a used bookstore. I'll be more careful next time.
January 29, 2021
I enjoyed the first section Women at Work - I liked the casual conversational style of all the different maids and the two opening stories and closing story where Atini gave told her story and gave her response to what the maids had been telling her all along. It was a shame we were not given more time with all of these women. I would have happily read 3-4 stories from each.
The second section, ...and other stories, I did not like that much. Many of the stories felt incredibly horrible for no purpose - perhaps their purpose is to shock the reader and force them to see that the fact that these stories are shocking to them is their privilege? The very first story in this second part, Flight was really good though- so short but beautiful and effective.
The second section, ...and other stories, I did not like that much. Many of the stories felt incredibly horrible for no purpose - perhaps their purpose is to shock the reader and force them to see that the fact that these stories are shocking to them is their privilege? The very first story in this second part, Flight was really good though- so short but beautiful and effective.
February 8, 2024
Sindiwe Magona's collection of short stories portrays the lives of ordinary South Africans in a beautifully poetic manner.
Sindiwe Magona captures the stories of lived experiences of people who otherwise would be lost in meta-narratives or just by the passage of time.
Themes of shared hardships of Xhosa migrant workers; the lives of maids stuck in the same thankless work; erasure of rural African values in a cut throat city life; the similar struggles of parenting between black and white woman but from two different worlds; the power dynamics between races that were prevalent during Apartheid but whose spector remains to this day. These are all present in this very small book, which takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride of emotions as they read the struggles of ordinarily people.
Sindiwe Magona captures the stories of lived experiences of people who otherwise would be lost in meta-narratives or just by the passage of time.
Themes of shared hardships of Xhosa migrant workers; the lives of maids stuck in the same thankless work; erasure of rural African values in a cut throat city life; the similar struggles of parenting between black and white woman but from two different worlds; the power dynamics between races that were prevalent during Apartheid but whose spector remains to this day. These are all present in this very small book, which takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride of emotions as they read the struggles of ordinarily people.
November 17, 2024
To be half the storyteller she is would be my best accomplishments. I absolutely enjoyed reading these short stories... Truly educational and heartbreaking.
September 15, 2024
Magona’s ability to tell stories through one sided dialogue is done effortlessly
January 21, 2015
This book is a look into South Africa during apartheid. The opening set of stories describe a maid's life and provide a glimpse of what life was like. Many of the other stories were excellent in the description of daily life.
I felt several of the stories the author pulled too hard on heartstrings.
Chapter 1 - An impoverished mother, unable to feed her children, leaves in the night to go to the city to work.
Chapter 12 - An intelligent black girl breaks a the favorite cup of the daughter of employer. Realizing that she will always live a servant's life she sets herself on fire and dies.
Chapter 14 - A young black woman is impregnated by an older black man. Her mother was also a young mother with her and the father had run off. The family goes to confront this father-to-be. The scene cuts to an abortion. The mother had recognized the father-to-be as the girl's father.
Chapter 16 - A tale of two young girls, one white and one black, who were raped and murdered. The story turns on the media's spotlight on the white girl and lack of coverage on the black girl.
I gave it five stars despite the flaws. The depiction of life in apartheid South Africa carried through over the melodrama of a few stories.
I felt several of the stories the author pulled too hard on heartstrings.
Chapter 1 - An impoverished mother, unable to feed her children, leaves in the night to go to the city to work.
Chapter 12 - An intelligent black girl breaks a the favorite cup of the daughter of employer. Realizing that she will always live a servant's life she sets herself on fire and dies.
Chapter 14 - A young black woman is impregnated by an older black man. Her mother was also a young mother with her and the father had run off. The family goes to confront this father-to-be. The scene cuts to an abortion. The mother had recognized the father-to-be as the girl's father.
Chapter 16 - A tale of two young girls, one white and one black, who were raped and murdered. The story turns on the media's spotlight on the white girl and lack of coverage on the black girl.
I gave it five stars despite the flaws. The depiction of life in apartheid South Africa carried through over the melodrama of a few stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2016
Magona had an interesting way of styling this narrative, at least for part 1. Most of it was written so that it was almost as though we were the protagonist, Atini, who had left her five children behind to work in the city for money to support them. Each chapter of part 1 is a conversation with another woman, another maid, and they tell us gossip about the medems and the maid community. Because everything is gossip, we aren't entirely sure who is a friend and who is simply spreading malice. And we, the narrator, are biased as well. Part 2 is a little different--each chapter is a different story and a different character, but it is all still written as though we are a minor character, just on the boundary of the community. I believe that the most horrifying and realistic part of this story is how perfectly normal the characters act about their situation, so much that you, as the reader, find yourself skipping over terrible details (such as Imelda's forced sterilization or Nosisa's self-immolation) as if they were everyday occurrence.
March 6, 2013
For those of you who read The Help, whether you like it or not but especially if you had a problem with any realism of the subject matter, you should read this last book that I read. It is called Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night and is by Sindiwe Magona. The first half of it is about domestic help in South Africa. The second half is a grouping of short stories of domestic help there also. I could not put it down. I began it late last night and read a third of it before I fell asleep and woke when the book smacked my nose. I finished it when we got home from town tonight. I found it to be very fascinating and there are a couple of real heart grabbers amongst the shorts. I rated it a 5* read and very highly recommend it.
September 11, 2025
En mor forlater barna sine for å jobbe i byen. En hushjelp og hennes kolleger forteller om hvordan det er å jobbe for sine hvite "medems". To barn voldtas og myrdes; bare ett av dem blir prioritert i etterforskningen og i media. Living, Loving and Lying Awake at Night er en samling fortellinger om det å være mor, og om det å være svart og å leve i Sør-Afrika under apartheid. Det er humor, tragedie, vonde følelser, urettferdighet, sterke personligheter og stort pågangsmot fortalt vittig og klokt. Anbefales!
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June 26, 2013Must re-read.
July 12, 2019
مجموعة قصص غنية بالمشاعر لكن الحبكات تقليدية للغاية
February 10, 2019
I loved this book which I read many years ago - I have estimated the date. I sometimes wonder if it inspired the American book ‘The Help’ as there are so many similar stories and attitudes.
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