Being Lily

by Qarnita Loxton

Dr Lily De Angelo is counting down the days before her wedding to Owen Fisher, making sure everything is perfect. For one thing, Owen’s dad from the Cape Flats will be seated far away from Lily’s snobbish parents who keep insinuating that Owen is not good enough for their trust fund baby. And then blonde-haired, long-legged Courtney shows up with her fifteen-year-old daughter, Chiara, who could be Owen’s. Everything goes pear-shaped for Lily, including her bum, that still doesn’t fit into her wedding dress, despite hours in the gym. Courtney and Chiara move in with Lily and Owen and not only is the ex-from-hell making eyes at him, but Owen seems a bit too happy at the thought of potentially being a dad. What happened to their decision to commit to love and marriage, but not the baby carriage? Is he changing his mind about children, about her?

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 18, 2018

About the author

Qarnita Loxton was born and lives in Cape Town. She has practised as an attorney, studied psychology and worked as an executive coach. Her first novel, Being Kari (Kwela 2017), was longlisted for the 2018 9mobile Prize for Literature and shortlisted for the 2018 Herman Charles Bosman Prize. Being Lily followed in 2018.

https://linktr.ee/qarnita

Reviews

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love LOVE especially when it wins against racial, classism and white privilege odds.

Lily and Owen. You'll love this couple and their friends whom they can count on ALL THE TIME. Friends who are always a phone call away. A fruit shake away. A pilates class away. A hike away. F*R*I*E*N*D*S

Beautifully written story about lives in times of prejudice in Cape Town. I love stories set in beautiful Cape Town. A magnificently beautiful and dreamy setting against Grassy Park, Elsie's River, drugs, gangsterism and the violence and thuggery, a consequence of turf wars. The Waterfront with its enchanting canals, the magnificent One&Only, away from the injustices visited upon the others by historical imbalances. But not Being Lily. Being Lily is a perfect slice of life with a tinge of complications but love wins at the end with a huge help of friends.

Looking for an escape from life? Being Lily is perfect, will make you forget your own life and its challenges, because hey, money and privilege have their own baggage and burden 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 but they sure make life so so much better if not easier.

So much to take away from Lily's life. The pressures, awkwardness and fright of being a step-parent to a teenage girl. The uncertainties that come with being a part of an instant family. The definition of relationships which come with such a setting. I saw so much of myself in Lily. The self-doubt, not knowing your position in this triangle. Friend or foe or parent???

Lily and Owen will be alright. Children take a cue from a couple's relationship.

4 PHAT stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

[Karina Szczurek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every page of this book. Loxton writes characters you would want to have as your friends. And the plots she invents for them will have you alternatively in stitches or shedding a tear. It is never boring around Lily, Kari and their wonderful bunch of friends. Can't wait for Loxton's next novel.

[Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane]

Lily and her friends and family are the reason I am still at 3am. This novel is filled with characters that will leave you feeling frustrated and questioning why people do the things that they do. A wonderful book about love, relationships, past relationships and the power of friendship. It also touches on socio-economic status in Cape Town coupled with issues of white privilege and ignorance. A novel with a happy ending.

Here is a conversation by The Cheeky Natives and the author.

https://soundcloud.com/user-404664175...

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a frivolous novel, set in Cape Town, relating the happenings in the few weeks leading up to Lily’s wedding to Owen. The pair have a diverse set of friends who try to support them through the family melodramas taking place just before the much anticipated event.
The arrival in Cape Town of Owen’s ex, Courtney, with her beautiful fifteen year old daughter, Chiara, threatens their relationship, when Lily believes Owen may still be attracted to Courtney. To make matters worse, Chiara may possibly be Owen’s daughter. Only after a paternity test will they know the truth, but this will take two weeks. In addition, there are strained relations between Lily’s rich, divorced parents, and Owen’s father from the Cape Flats district.
Will the wedding take place, or won’t it?
I found the situations amusing, but never empathised with Lily, whose character is neurotic and spoilt. The fact that Lily, a doctor, needed to constantly seek advice and support from her female friends, I found hard to believe.
An easy, light, amusing read. But the characters are very stereotyped.
(There were some irritatingly glaring errors in the story, in the copy I read. Name mixups and age inaccuracies. Poor editing!)

[Tara Macpherson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I realise I'm only two books in, but I think I'm in love with @qarnitaloxton books!

Being Lily by Qarnita Loxton stars the fabulous and sharp Lily who is feeling all the stress regarding her upcoming wedding to longtime friend Owen. Its stressful, but great....until an ex from Owen's past shows up with a child that might be his. Owen is handling it well, so we'll that Lily starts to fear decisions they had made together might be at risk. Fears of the future, of the past repeating itself and the stress of wanting to look your best on your wedding day would be enough to drive anyone mad, so let's see how Lily fairs!

Something I'm finding in Loxton's books are how believable and relatable the characters are. I can't help but fall in love with them (warts and all). Lily reminds me of people I know personally and I wonder if that's part of the reason I enjoyed her so much. She is blunt but has more heart than she let's on. Owen is wonderful. The rest of the DSLoK crew are in top form and I'm excited to read the remaining stories.

Something else that I found very refreshing (not sure if the right word) was the topic of racism, and how unaware one can be of it. The nuances of our particular race conflicts aren't at the forefront, but they are there and play on Lily's mind in a way that feels quite honest.

If you're looking for something contemporary with drama, laughter and heart and set in Cape Town, you can't go wrong with this read! Highly recommend!

Have you read this series yet? Do you have a favourite? Any favourite characters? Would love to hear your thoughts!

[Belinda Mfalapitsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being Lilly was such a colorful book to read, I enjoyed it to the fullest. I loved how Qarnita takes us on a journey with Lilly and her circle of friends. I enjoyed the dynamics of Lilly and Owen's relationship. They both agreed not to have kids in their marriage which is something out of the norm.
Their relationship was somewhat unconventional given that married couples are expected to have kids within the marriage.
I specifically loved the twist in the plot when Courtney (Owens ex girlfriend) came into the picture with some shocking revelations that Owen might be the father to Courtney's daughter.

Sometimes life takes a turn that we least expected and we have to turn around and adjust to the situation to make it work, regardless of the implications.

if you're looking for a light read during your coffee breaks this is the perfect read for you.

[Nadine Vernon-Driscoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It made me laugh, it made me cry and it captivated me the entire way. A great holiday read with relatable and lovable characters. I love reading stories by local South African women.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every minute of this book. I fell in Love with all the characters in her first novel, being Kari, so it was wonderful to reconnect with them all again! A really real and funny read!!

[Smin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun weekend read set in Cape Town with a gang of colourful characters

[Aleya Banwari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy, light reading

[Zaheera Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky, deep and so relatable. Loved all the words.

[Lisa van Zyl-Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a fun book. Good to read a South African novel with a fresh point of view.

[Neems · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Loxton's writing - always fun and interesting to read.

[Clotilde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and real- but with a light undertone that we all need nowadays