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If You Want to Make God Laugh
From the author of the beloved Hum If You Don't Know the Words comes a rich, unforgettable story of three unique women in post-Apartheid South Africa who are brought together in their darkest time and discover the ways that love can transcend the strictest of boundaries.
In a squatter camp on the outskirts of Johannesburg, seventeen-year-old Zodwa lives in desperate poverty, under the shadowy threat of a civil war and a growing AIDS epidemic. Eight months pregnant, Zodwa carefully guards secrets that jeopardize her life.
Across the country, wealthy socialite Ruth appears to have everything her heart desires, but it's what she can't have that leads to her breakdown. Meanwhile, in Zaire, a disgraced former nun, Delilah, grapples with a past that refuses to stay buried. When these personal crises send both middle-aged women back to their rural hometown to lick their wounds, the discovery of an abandoned newborn baby upends everything, challenging their lifelong beliefs about race, motherhood, and the power of the past.
As the mystery surrounding the infant grows, the complicated lives of Zodwa, Ruth, and Delilah become inextricably linked. What follows is a mesmerizing look at family and identity that asks: How far will the human heart go to protect itself and the ones it loves?
In a squatter camp on the outskirts of Johannesburg, seventeen-year-old Zodwa lives in desperate poverty, under the shadowy threat of a civil war and a growing AIDS epidemic. Eight months pregnant, Zodwa carefully guards secrets that jeopardize her life.
Across the country, wealthy socialite Ruth appears to have everything her heart desires, but it's what she can't have that leads to her breakdown. Meanwhile, in Zaire, a disgraced former nun, Delilah, grapples with a past that refuses to stay buried. When these personal crises send both middle-aged women back to their rural hometown to lick their wounds, the discovery of an abandoned newborn baby upends everything, challenging their lifelong beliefs about race, motherhood, and the power of the past.
As the mystery surrounding the infant grows, the complicated lives of Zodwa, Ruth, and Delilah become inextricably linked. What follows is a mesmerizing look at family and identity that asks: How far will the human heart go to protect itself and the ones it loves?
445 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 16, 2019
224 people are currently reading
12380 people want to read
About the author
Bianca Marais
6 books1,012 followersBianca Marais cohosts the popular podcast, 'The Shit No One Tells You About Writing', which is aimed at emerging writers/aspiring authors. She teaches creative writing through the podcast and was named a winner of the Excellence in Teaching Award for Creative Writing at the University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies.
Before becoming an author, she volunteered in Soweto where she assisted care workers with providing aid for HIV/AIDS orphans and their caregivers.
She now lives in Toronto, where she loves playing escape-room games and writing about strong female protagonists.
Before becoming an author, she volunteered in Soweto where she assisted care workers with providing aid for HIV/AIDS orphans and their caregivers.
She now lives in Toronto, where she loves playing escape-room games and writing about strong female protagonists.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 910 reviews
September 21, 2019
If You Want to Make God Laugh takes us on an emotional journey of love, loss, racial divide, civil unrest, injustice, family and motherhood.
All I can say is, WOW! These women captured me completely. This is a story full of both sorrow and heart. The vulnerability of these women will tug at your heartstrings. They suffer, endure loss after loss and still stand up strong - refusing to crumble and fold.
Bianca Marais doesn't shy away from big issues such as the stigma of HIV, racism, homophobia, religious corruption and the abuse of power over women. She has woven these issues with compassion and honesty into a moving story that follows the lives of three women and the little boy they all come to love.
This my friends is a must read of the highest order! I highly recommend it to each and every one of you.
Thank you to Bianca Marais, Penguin Publishing and Edelweiss for the opportunity to read and review a digital arc of this amazing book.
All I can say is, WOW! These women captured me completely. This is a story full of both sorrow and heart. The vulnerability of these women will tug at your heartstrings. They suffer, endure loss after loss and still stand up strong - refusing to crumble and fold.
Bianca Marais doesn't shy away from big issues such as the stigma of HIV, racism, homophobia, religious corruption and the abuse of power over women. She has woven these issues with compassion and honesty into a moving story that follows the lives of three women and the little boy they all come to love.
This my friends is a must read of the highest order! I highly recommend it to each and every one of you.
Thank you to Bianca Marais, Penguin Publishing and Edelweiss for the opportunity to read and review a digital arc of this amazing book.
June 16, 2019
Like her debut novel, Hum If You Don’t Know the Words, this second one by Bianca Marais also has a lot to offer. With the backdrop of post apartheid South Africa as Nelson Mandela is elected president, the political environment of the 1990’s is reflected. It depicts the socioeconomic and racial divide of whites and blacks, the have and the have nots, the Aids epidemic, abuses by a Catholic priest, the stigma of homosexuality. It’s about the lives of three women whose lives are connected in a way that will both break your heart and put it back together.
The first person narratives of three women in relatively short chapters had me drawn in from the beginning to each of their stories, which slowly unfold. Delilah, an ex nun and relief worker and Ruth, an ex stripper who is going through a third divorce are sisters. Both are returning to their home carrying burdens of their pasts and are in need for a place to live . They have been estranged for years and the tension between them is evident from the first time they see each other. Zowda, a pregnant teenage girl is trying to change her life, going to school , but has returned to the shack at the settlement where she lives with her dying mother. Each of them have things that haunt them and it’s very slow going in the middle until what has happened to each of them is divulged, but the heart of the story is what brings Zowda and the two sisters together. It’s a good story, a story of what it means to be a mother, a story of how people’s lives connect and by the last third I was as engaged as I was in the beginning. It’s beautifully written and I was moved to tears by the end. If you enjoyed Hum, you’ll love seeing an appearance by Beauty and Robin. If you enjoyed Marais’s first novel, I would certainly recommend this one.
I received an advanced copy of this book from G.P. Putnam’s Sons through Edelweiss.
The first person narratives of three women in relatively short chapters had me drawn in from the beginning to each of their stories, which slowly unfold. Delilah, an ex nun and relief worker and Ruth, an ex stripper who is going through a third divorce are sisters. Both are returning to their home carrying burdens of their pasts and are in need for a place to live . They have been estranged for years and the tension between them is evident from the first time they see each other. Zowda, a pregnant teenage girl is trying to change her life, going to school , but has returned to the shack at the settlement where she lives with her dying mother. Each of them have things that haunt them and it’s very slow going in the middle until what has happened to each of them is divulged, but the heart of the story is what brings Zowda and the two sisters together. It’s a good story, a story of what it means to be a mother, a story of how people’s lives connect and by the last third I was as engaged as I was in the beginning. It’s beautifully written and I was moved to tears by the end. If you enjoyed Hum, you’ll love seeing an appearance by Beauty and Robin. If you enjoyed Marais’s first novel, I would certainly recommend this one.
I received an advanced copy of this book from G.P. Putnam’s Sons through Edelweiss.
July 21, 2019
What a beautiful, heartbreaking book, of three very different women, brought together because of need and the love of a little black baby. Two of those women are white sisters and the other woman is his mother, who had her baby snatched from her at birth, because her mother loved her so much and wanted the best for her daughter's baby.
The book takes place in the 1990s Johannesburg, in post-Apartheid South Africa, during the raging and misunderstood AIDs epidemic, and as Nelson Mandela begins his presidency. Each woman has hit rock bottom, with black Zodwa searching mortuaries and then orphanages for her missing baby, white Ruth having destroyed her relationship with probably the only man who really loved her, and Ruth's sister, Delilah finding out her lost to her forever son has been shot in the head. Delilah and Ruth could not be more different and after a forty year estrangement face healing an impossible to mend relationship.
So much happens during this book and we get to learn about each woman with chapters from each of their viewpoints. Much of the book concerns little Mandla, who each woman loves in different and similar ways. But there is so much more here and in so many ways each very different woman has had similar experiences. All three women have secrets in their past that eventually get revealed to the others and those revelations bring understanding and compassion for what each woman has endured.
I'm not even coming close to touching all the trials of these women's lives, what they have endured and continue to endure along with the people of this time and country. If you read this book, be sure to read the afterward, which gives even more meaning to this touching story. So much of this is a love story...a story of so many different kinds of love.
Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and NetGalley for this ARC.
The book takes place in the 1990s Johannesburg, in post-Apartheid South Africa, during the raging and misunderstood AIDs epidemic, and as Nelson Mandela begins his presidency. Each woman has hit rock bottom, with black Zodwa searching mortuaries and then orphanages for her missing baby, white Ruth having destroyed her relationship with probably the only man who really loved her, and Ruth's sister, Delilah finding out her lost to her forever son has been shot in the head. Delilah and Ruth could not be more different and after a forty year estrangement face healing an impossible to mend relationship.
So much happens during this book and we get to learn about each woman with chapters from each of their viewpoints. Much of the book concerns little Mandla, who each woman loves in different and similar ways. But there is so much more here and in so many ways each very different woman has had similar experiences. All three women have secrets in their past that eventually get revealed to the others and those revelations bring understanding and compassion for what each woman has endured.
I'm not even coming close to touching all the trials of these women's lives, what they have endured and continue to endure along with the people of this time and country. If you read this book, be sure to read the afterward, which gives even more meaning to this touching story. So much of this is a love story...a story of so many different kinds of love.
Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and NetGalley for this ARC.
December 1, 2019
For fans of ‘Hum If You Don’t Know the Words’ who were hoping for the story to continue... this isn’t a sequel but look out for Beauty and Robin who make cameo appearances in ‘If You Want to Make God Laugh’.
I absolutely loved writing this book and I really hope you’ll enjoy reading it.
(The five star review is meant to be a joke, by the way 😉)
I absolutely loved writing this book and I really hope you’ll enjoy reading it.
(The five star review is meant to be a joke, by the way 😉)
July 21, 2019
I knew within the first couple of pages of If You Want to Make God Laugh I was reading something special. The writing instantly drew me in, as did the characters’ stories.
If You Want to Make God Laugh is the story of three strong women. When we meet Zodwa, she’s seventeen and pregnant, living in a squatter camp outside of Johannesburg. People were living in these camps to look for work and escape peril, only to find South Africa on the verge of a civil war and perhaps more poverty than from where they’d come.
Ruth is a socialite struggling with mental health and an estranged marriage.
Delilah is a former nun, who left the clergy in disgrace, and is working in an orphanage.
These women’s lives connect, and the story blossoms when Ruth and Delilah are gifted a newborn baby.
There are many, many things here I can tell you I loved. Marais’ writing is like butter, so silky smooth, and she quickly draws you in with her impeccable storytelling. She hooked me to each main character quickly, with their relatable, likable, and vulnerable qualities.
I didn’t know much previously about this post-Apartheid time in South Africa. It led to a great discussion with my father as he shared what he remembered from his own reading and awareness during that time. Racial disparities, the AIDS crisis, and all of the civil unrest. It’s hard to imagine this was a time in recent history and the grave injustices that occurred.
At the heart of the story, though, is these women sharing messages of what it takes to be a mother and how love defines us all. You don’t have to be a fan of historical fiction to love this story. The 90s weren’t that long ago. I think there’s something for everyone here in this beautiful book!
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
If You Want to Make God Laugh is the story of three strong women. When we meet Zodwa, she’s seventeen and pregnant, living in a squatter camp outside of Johannesburg. People were living in these camps to look for work and escape peril, only to find South Africa on the verge of a civil war and perhaps more poverty than from where they’d come.
Ruth is a socialite struggling with mental health and an estranged marriage.
Delilah is a former nun, who left the clergy in disgrace, and is working in an orphanage.
These women’s lives connect, and the story blossoms when Ruth and Delilah are gifted a newborn baby.
There are many, many things here I can tell you I loved. Marais’ writing is like butter, so silky smooth, and she quickly draws you in with her impeccable storytelling. She hooked me to each main character quickly, with their relatable, likable, and vulnerable qualities.
I didn’t know much previously about this post-Apartheid time in South Africa. It led to a great discussion with my father as he shared what he remembered from his own reading and awareness during that time. Racial disparities, the AIDS crisis, and all of the civil unrest. It’s hard to imagine this was a time in recent history and the grave injustices that occurred.
At the heart of the story, though, is these women sharing messages of what it takes to be a mother and how love defines us all. You don’t have to be a fan of historical fiction to love this story. The 90s weren’t that long ago. I think there’s something for everyone here in this beautiful book!
I received a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
My reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com
August 29, 2019
WARNING!! This book has a massive overload of saccharine!
The comedienne Margaret Cho once quipped, "I have no maternal instinct. I am barren. I ovulate sand". I can relate. That is me. Sand in the ovaries. Give me a non-human baby and it awakens the mother in me. Show me a human baby and I want to swallow handfuls of birth control pills. Babies and me? Nope. Not happening. I initially thought I didn't like this book solely because there was too much oohing and aahing over a human baby. I thought that if I could just get through the beginning, surely the baby would grow up (they do, don't they?) and we could stop with all the maternal sentiment. Well, it turned out that was the least of the problems I had with this book. This book is soap opera melodrama on speed. Or crack or something.
I loved this author's Hum If You Don’t Know the Words, 5 stars all the way, and that's the only reason I stuck with this one. Half-way through when I realised I was NOT going to ever feel the love with this one, I figured I might as well just finish it. Why? Why did I do that to myself??? Ugh, it was awful.
Set in South Africa during Apartheid, two middle-aged white women move back to their family home. One is a disgraced and excommunicated nun; the other's husband just informed her he wants a divorce. She doesn't immediately run home though. First she takes two sleeping pills to pretend she's trying to commit suicide so this husband will see how much he will miss her if he loses her. She calls him, swallows the pills, and falls asleep in the tub, almost drowning. TWO sleeping pills??? Really? What the hell kind of sleeping pills are they?? Sleeping pills for elephants?? So I should have known in the very beginning how unbelievable this book would be.
Moving along..... Ruth (the almost-drowned-in-the-tub-by-taking-elephant-sleeping-pills sister) has lost all her money and has no choice but to return to her family home, hoping she can sell it. When she gets there, she finds that Delilah (the excommunicated-nun-but-much-more-likable sister (ha, ha!) has also returned home. These two women are total opposites, getting on each other's nerves at every turn.
Next we have Zowda, a young Zulu girl who is pregnant. She lives with her dying mother in a squatter camp and after giving birth, conveniently for the story, falls asleep. Her mother then runs off with the baby, delivering her to -- you guessed it -- Delilah and Ruth. She tells Zowda the baby is dead, and then proceeds to die herself.
So that is the set up for this story and it could have been wonderful had the author not felt the need to over-dramatize things and turn it into a slathering mess of sentimentality. Just about everything that occurs in this book is so over-the-top unbelievable. My eyes were constantly exercised, rolling back in my head at just about every page. And the contradictions!
There's no way to talk (ok, "bitch" is a more accurate word) about them without giving away key parts of the story so only read the spoilers if you don't plan to read the book (which if your taste in books is anything like mine, you will be wise to avoid).
The whole book is just silly. It contains the maximum of drama and tragedy, working over-time to bring the reader to tears. I guess I cry sand as well as ovulate it because I shed not one tear reading this book. I couldn't feel a thing for the characters because this book just didn't make sense and the believability factor was close to nil.
Obviously based on others' ratings, I am in the minority with this book. However, consider yourself warned if you decide to read it. My fiancee had to stop me when I was telling her about the book because it's just TOO FREAKING MUCH!
I originally gave this one star but am feeling generous this evening and upped it to two. The reason for that is because the author writes well. The story might suck donkey balls and I could hardly wait to be finished with it, but hey, at least it's written well.
July 7, 2019
Heartbreaking and beautiful. I've read the author's other book, Hum If You Don't Know the Words and with both books she does an excellent job at weaving historical facts into a story with complex characters dealing with heavy issues. While I enjoyed both books, I think this one is slightly better. If you haven't read anything by this author before, I strongly recommend giving her a try.
This is the story of three women living in post-Apartheid South Africa in the 1990s. Seventeen-year-old Zodwa has grown up living in poverty and her dreams of escaping it might not come true as she is now pregnant. On the surface, Ruth might appear to have it all, with her good looks and money, but she is feeling like her world is crashing down on her right before her eyes. Delilah, a disgraced former nun, is devastated when she hears news about someone who is very important to her. Their lives are somehow going to be linked to one another but you will have to read the book to find out how.
The story switches back and forth between the women and I can't single out a favorite because they each had an important story to tell. There were good emotional moments with each character. I don't want to give too much away about the book but I do think the setting of South Africa during this time period really enhanced the story as there was certainly a lot going on in that country in the 1990s. Highly recommend if you enjoy historical fiction and/or stories featuring strong female characters.
This was the last book I got to read for the First to Read program now that it's ending. I'm so thankful I got the opportunity to read and review over 100 books during the time I participated. I was introduced to many authors including this one so I'm sad to see it go.
I was under no obligation to post a review and all views expressed are my honest opinion.
This is the story of three women living in post-Apartheid South Africa in the 1990s. Seventeen-year-old Zodwa has grown up living in poverty and her dreams of escaping it might not come true as she is now pregnant. On the surface, Ruth might appear to have it all, with her good looks and money, but she is feeling like her world is crashing down on her right before her eyes. Delilah, a disgraced former nun, is devastated when she hears news about someone who is very important to her. Their lives are somehow going to be linked to one another but you will have to read the book to find out how.
The story switches back and forth between the women and I can't single out a favorite because they each had an important story to tell. There were good emotional moments with each character. I don't want to give too much away about the book but I do think the setting of South Africa during this time period really enhanced the story as there was certainly a lot going on in that country in the 1990s. Highly recommend if you enjoy historical fiction and/or stories featuring strong female characters.
This was the last book I got to read for the First to Read program now that it's ending. I'm so thankful I got the opportunity to read and review over 100 books during the time I participated. I was introduced to many authors including this one so I'm sad to see it go.
I was under no obligation to post a review and all views expressed are my honest opinion.
April 3, 2024
If You Want to Make God Laugh is the story of three South African women in the 1990s with very different lives. They are each facing challenges and keeping secrets buried but life brings them together in unexpected ways.
I was invested in this story which alternates POVs between the three women — Zodwa, a 17 year old girl, and estranged adult sisters, Ruth and Delilah. It took awhile for one of the women to grow on me but ultimately all three of them did. The central theme of this story is love, in its various forms. I don’t know a lot about the political and social climate of South Africa in the 1990s and found this book educational in that regard.
I was invested in this story which alternates POVs between the three women — Zodwa, a 17 year old girl, and estranged adult sisters, Ruth and Delilah. It took awhile for one of the women to grow on me but ultimately all three of them did. The central theme of this story is love, in its various forms. I don’t know a lot about the political and social climate of South Africa in the 1990s and found this book educational in that regard.
February 16, 2019
Loved it so much! Photos for this review and other reviews and recommendations on https://booknationbyjen.wordpress.com.
I loved the author’s debut, Hum if you Don’t Know the Words, and feel the same about this wonderful upcoming novel out this summer. The beauty and strength of the South African women will stick with you…PREORDER your copy today!
If You Want to Make God Laugh is the fast moving and compelling story of three ladies, Zodwa, Ruth and Delilah, set in South Africa. Easy to read chapters alternate points of view:
Zodwa is young girl, raped, pregnant, living in a squatter camp and ashamed of her romantic feelings of infatuation with her close girl friend. When her baby is born, she was taken from her and later the same day her mother dies, leaving her alone, desperate and feeling lost.
Delilah was raped when she was a teenager and was forces to leave her child at the convent she was excommunicated from due to her pregnancy. She spent her years repenting while working at an orphanage, alone and lost.
After a career of stripping and feeling unhappy in her relationship, Delilah’s older sister, Ruth left her husband feeling sad and regretful for never being able to have a child. Ruth and Delilah hadn’t spoken to each other since they were young.
The estranged sisters meet at their parent’s empty house, Ruth intending to sell it and Delilah hoping to live there. Tension runs high between the siblings, but after a newborn black baby was left on the doorstop, Ruth realizes her calling is to adopt this child and give him the life he deserves. Delilah is not in agreement and so much pain rises to the surface due to the past. As the sisters work to break down walls and understand each other’s emotions, they are faced with prejudice and harassment from the neighbors. The sisters decide to secure the house and hire a live in maid to help with the baby.
If You Want to Make God Laugh is a masterfully written emotional journey of three women where everyone is either running to or from something as they try to find peace and understand in their calling. It is a testament to the incredible strength women have and what lengths mothers will go to to protect and care for their children.
Q and A with author Bianca Marais
How did you come up with the title If You Want to Make God Laugh? The words appear once in the text – do you write the book first and then choose the title out of the text or do you fit in the words of the title after the book is written? Was this the same process for Hum?
HUM was originally going to be called ‘It Aint Over Till the Fat Lady Sings’ because I envisioned Mama Fatty, the shebeen queen of Soweto, singing at the end. But that changed during the writing of the book when Robin’s aunt Edith tells her to hum if she doesn’t know the words to a hymn at her parents’ funeral. That line stayed with me because it was such a great metaphor for what the characters were going through.
With LAUGH, the title stuck from the beginning because of that saying, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans” which really sums up what all three of these women are going through. It’s always a thrill for me to write the title into the book because I love discovering the title when I’m reading a novel.
It comes clear while reading the novel that for your characters, having ideas and making plans for the future have minimal impact on how things turn out. Do you believe in fate? How much control do you think we have of our future?
Oh wow, this is a tough question.
I think we have a lot of control over our lives in that the decisions we make today will influence the way things play out for us down the line. Work hard and you’ll generally reap the benefits. Be a kind person and it will definitely have a knock-on effect in both your life and in the lives of others. Take care of your health and you’ll live longer than if you treated your body like a garbage can.
But there are definitely things in life that we can’t possibly see coming: accidents, illnesses, bad luck. And this is the part that’s tough for me as an A-type Capricorn to accept: that there are certain things in our lives that are completely beyond our control. And that we can be good people and do good things, and we can plan and save and do everything right and still have tragedy strike. But even when the unimaginable happens, we then still have agency in terms of how we move forward and how we handle that situation which is what the women in my story show: how to keep going when the worst has happened.
In terms of believing in fate: it’s hard not to believe that some things are fated because they seem so improbable and yet they happen regardless. I want to believe in fate and that some things are meant to be.
AIDS was an epidemic in South Africa at the time of the story and in it, the white people seemed to put blame and shame on the black women and children…what about the black men? Did we just not see it in the story because the black men did not infiltrate the white people’s world in the same way that black women maids and housekeepers did?
Black families were torn apart during apartheid with most black men being forced to work in gold mines and black women having to work as maids in the city. Husbands and wives got separated from their children and lived miles and miles apart from one another, often only seeing one another once a year. This led to the disintegration of the black family and allowed the perfect conditions for the spreading the HIV virus. Also, many black men refused to wear condoms despite having multiple sexual partners which put women at greater risk.
Since most of the black men worked in gold mines or as laborers, they weren’t a part of white people’s lives like black women were. These were the women caring for white people’s children, living in their homes and being a huge part of their daily existence. When they began to get sick, white people were forced to take notice of the epidemic and focused that attention on the people who were closest to them and therefore at most risk of passing the virus onto them.
The saying Blood is Thicker Than Water means relationships built through choices will never be as strong as family bonds. The bonds your characters have seem to support this theory; Delilah and Ruth slowly reconcile through the course of the book (so skillfully written, I might add, that at first they were so at odds, and without realizing it, little by little they developed a wonderful, supportive relationship right before our eyes), Zodwa and Mandla felt connected the moment they met, Delilah and Daniel were drawn together virtually although they never met. How do you feel about this?
Family bonds are incredibly strong in the story in all the ways you mentioned but I also believe that friendships and the relationships we choose can be just as strong if not stronger. I believe that it’s hardship and struggle that truly puts a relationship to the test, and it’s in overcoming adversity that true bonds are forged whether they’re familial or of another nature. Something I find fascinating is that often the people who are meant to love us most are the ones who can hurt us the deepest which we see playing out with Ruth and Delilah. For me, the important thing is choice. Choosing to work on a relationship and to be there for someone through the difficulties, and choosing to have them in your life.
How did you come up with the rustic home environment for Zodwa?
A lot of Zodwa’s experience in the squatter camp was inspired by my ten years of volunteering in squatter camps in Soweto and the rest of Johannesburg. Here are some photos from that time.
P1010061.JPG P1010237.JPG P1010024.JPG P1010264.JPG P1010064.JPG P1010269.JPG P1010271.JPG
It was a joy to see Beauty and Robin from Hum weaved into this story…did you start this new book with them in mind with the story growing out of them or did you add them in after?
I started writing the sequel to HUM which I never got to finish, and so it’s always been very clear in my mind what Robin and Beauty were doing in the 90s. When I started writing this book, I very much wanted to incorporate their stories in this one but in an organic way so that if readers hadn’t read HUM, they wouldn’t find Robin and Beauty’s presence strange. It was lovely to get to spend time with them again and to give HUM readers a glimpse into their futures.
All of your characters have lost so much. They are all searching for something…Ruth wants to fulfill her lifelong dream to be a mother, Delilah wants to connect with Daniel, Leleti wanted to find her son, Zodwa wants to be a mother to Mandla…they also have secrets from suicide attempts, to a secret child to sexual orientation. These women are so well developed with a past, present and hopes for the future; do you have a formula you use or a certain process to create them?
Thank you. That’s a wonderful compliment!
I don’t have a formula, per se. I always start with characters. They come to me before the plot or the storyline comes to me. I see these characters as real people who are struggling with something and that then forms the basis of the story. I write to get to know them better and by the end of the book, I always know so much more about my characters than what finds its way onto the page. In that way, they become real to me. If I’m not suffering and laughing and crying with them while I write, then I’m not connected to them and how can I expect my reader to be?
If this were to become a movie, who would you want to play the main characters?
When I write, I often picture characters as actors or people I know, etc. They were pictured as follows for LAUGH though they obviously couldn’t all play the characters now:
Ruth: Debbie Reynolds
Delilah: Dame Judie Dench
Zodwa: Lupita Nyong’o
Riaan: James Brolin
Vince: John Goodman
Leleti: Lupita Nyong’o’s mother, Dorothy Nyong’o
Thembeka: A young Leleti Khumalo (a South African actress)
Here is what my vision board looked like while writing LAUGH:
image1.jpeg
What are you working on next?
In a complete change of genre for me, I’m working on a psychological thriller. I thought I’d try my writing chops at murder, sex and mayhem. I’m having a lot of fun! LOL.
I loved the author’s debut, Hum if you Don’t Know the Words, and feel the same about this wonderful upcoming novel out this summer. The beauty and strength of the South African women will stick with you…PREORDER your copy today!
If You Want to Make God Laugh is the fast moving and compelling story of three ladies, Zodwa, Ruth and Delilah, set in South Africa. Easy to read chapters alternate points of view:
Zodwa is young girl, raped, pregnant, living in a squatter camp and ashamed of her romantic feelings of infatuation with her close girl friend. When her baby is born, she was taken from her and later the same day her mother dies, leaving her alone, desperate and feeling lost.
Delilah was raped when she was a teenager and was forces to leave her child at the convent she was excommunicated from due to her pregnancy. She spent her years repenting while working at an orphanage, alone and lost.
After a career of stripping and feeling unhappy in her relationship, Delilah’s older sister, Ruth left her husband feeling sad and regretful for never being able to have a child. Ruth and Delilah hadn’t spoken to each other since they were young.
The estranged sisters meet at their parent’s empty house, Ruth intending to sell it and Delilah hoping to live there. Tension runs high between the siblings, but after a newborn black baby was left on the doorstop, Ruth realizes her calling is to adopt this child and give him the life he deserves. Delilah is not in agreement and so much pain rises to the surface due to the past. As the sisters work to break down walls and understand each other’s emotions, they are faced with prejudice and harassment from the neighbors. The sisters decide to secure the house and hire a live in maid to help with the baby.
If You Want to Make God Laugh is a masterfully written emotional journey of three women where everyone is either running to or from something as they try to find peace and understand in their calling. It is a testament to the incredible strength women have and what lengths mothers will go to to protect and care for their children.
Q and A with author Bianca Marais
How did you come up with the title If You Want to Make God Laugh? The words appear once in the text – do you write the book first and then choose the title out of the text or do you fit in the words of the title after the book is written? Was this the same process for Hum?
HUM was originally going to be called ‘It Aint Over Till the Fat Lady Sings’ because I envisioned Mama Fatty, the shebeen queen of Soweto, singing at the end. But that changed during the writing of the book when Robin’s aunt Edith tells her to hum if she doesn’t know the words to a hymn at her parents’ funeral. That line stayed with me because it was such a great metaphor for what the characters were going through.
With LAUGH, the title stuck from the beginning because of that saying, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans” which really sums up what all three of these women are going through. It’s always a thrill for me to write the title into the book because I love discovering the title when I’m reading a novel.
It comes clear while reading the novel that for your characters, having ideas and making plans for the future have minimal impact on how things turn out. Do you believe in fate? How much control do you think we have of our future?
Oh wow, this is a tough question.
I think we have a lot of control over our lives in that the decisions we make today will influence the way things play out for us down the line. Work hard and you’ll generally reap the benefits. Be a kind person and it will definitely have a knock-on effect in both your life and in the lives of others. Take care of your health and you’ll live longer than if you treated your body like a garbage can.
But there are definitely things in life that we can’t possibly see coming: accidents, illnesses, bad luck. And this is the part that’s tough for me as an A-type Capricorn to accept: that there are certain things in our lives that are completely beyond our control. And that we can be good people and do good things, and we can plan and save and do everything right and still have tragedy strike. But even when the unimaginable happens, we then still have agency in terms of how we move forward and how we handle that situation which is what the women in my story show: how to keep going when the worst has happened.
In terms of believing in fate: it’s hard not to believe that some things are fated because they seem so improbable and yet they happen regardless. I want to believe in fate and that some things are meant to be.
AIDS was an epidemic in South Africa at the time of the story and in it, the white people seemed to put blame and shame on the black women and children…what about the black men? Did we just not see it in the story because the black men did not infiltrate the white people’s world in the same way that black women maids and housekeepers did?
Black families were torn apart during apartheid with most black men being forced to work in gold mines and black women having to work as maids in the city. Husbands and wives got separated from their children and lived miles and miles apart from one another, often only seeing one another once a year. This led to the disintegration of the black family and allowed the perfect conditions for the spreading the HIV virus. Also, many black men refused to wear condoms despite having multiple sexual partners which put women at greater risk.
Since most of the black men worked in gold mines or as laborers, they weren’t a part of white people’s lives like black women were. These were the women caring for white people’s children, living in their homes and being a huge part of their daily existence. When they began to get sick, white people were forced to take notice of the epidemic and focused that attention on the people who were closest to them and therefore at most risk of passing the virus onto them.
The saying Blood is Thicker Than Water means relationships built through choices will never be as strong as family bonds. The bonds your characters have seem to support this theory; Delilah and Ruth slowly reconcile through the course of the book (so skillfully written, I might add, that at first they were so at odds, and without realizing it, little by little they developed a wonderful, supportive relationship right before our eyes), Zodwa and Mandla felt connected the moment they met, Delilah and Daniel were drawn together virtually although they never met. How do you feel about this?
Family bonds are incredibly strong in the story in all the ways you mentioned but I also believe that friendships and the relationships we choose can be just as strong if not stronger. I believe that it’s hardship and struggle that truly puts a relationship to the test, and it’s in overcoming adversity that true bonds are forged whether they’re familial or of another nature. Something I find fascinating is that often the people who are meant to love us most are the ones who can hurt us the deepest which we see playing out with Ruth and Delilah. For me, the important thing is choice. Choosing to work on a relationship and to be there for someone through the difficulties, and choosing to have them in your life.
How did you come up with the rustic home environment for Zodwa?
A lot of Zodwa’s experience in the squatter camp was inspired by my ten years of volunteering in squatter camps in Soweto and the rest of Johannesburg. Here are some photos from that time.
P1010061.JPG P1010237.JPG P1010024.JPG P1010264.JPG P1010064.JPG P1010269.JPG P1010271.JPG
It was a joy to see Beauty and Robin from Hum weaved into this story…did you start this new book with them in mind with the story growing out of them or did you add them in after?
I started writing the sequel to HUM which I never got to finish, and so it’s always been very clear in my mind what Robin and Beauty were doing in the 90s. When I started writing this book, I very much wanted to incorporate their stories in this one but in an organic way so that if readers hadn’t read HUM, they wouldn’t find Robin and Beauty’s presence strange. It was lovely to get to spend time with them again and to give HUM readers a glimpse into their futures.
All of your characters have lost so much. They are all searching for something…Ruth wants to fulfill her lifelong dream to be a mother, Delilah wants to connect with Daniel, Leleti wanted to find her son, Zodwa wants to be a mother to Mandla…they also have secrets from suicide attempts, to a secret child to sexual orientation. These women are so well developed with a past, present and hopes for the future; do you have a formula you use or a certain process to create them?
Thank you. That’s a wonderful compliment!
I don’t have a formula, per se. I always start with characters. They come to me before the plot or the storyline comes to me. I see these characters as real people who are struggling with something and that then forms the basis of the story. I write to get to know them better and by the end of the book, I always know so much more about my characters than what finds its way onto the page. In that way, they become real to me. If I’m not suffering and laughing and crying with them while I write, then I’m not connected to them and how can I expect my reader to be?
If this were to become a movie, who would you want to play the main characters?
When I write, I often picture characters as actors or people I know, etc. They were pictured as follows for LAUGH though they obviously couldn’t all play the characters now:
Ruth: Debbie Reynolds
Delilah: Dame Judie Dench
Zodwa: Lupita Nyong’o
Riaan: James Brolin
Vince: John Goodman
Leleti: Lupita Nyong’o’s mother, Dorothy Nyong’o
Thembeka: A young Leleti Khumalo (a South African actress)
Here is what my vision board looked like while writing LAUGH:
image1.jpeg
What are you working on next?
In a complete change of genre for me, I’m working on a psychological thriller. I thought I’d try my writing chops at murder, sex and mayhem. I’m having a lot of fun! LOL.
January 21, 2020
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
WARNING: HERE THAR BE SPOILERS
Take:
1. One aging, suicidal, infertile, almost divorcée;
2. One nun excommunicated from the Catholic Church decades ago (after being secretly raped and impregnated by the parish priest) whose baby was taken and raised by the sisters in the convent;
3. One currently pregnant girl (who also was a victim of rape);
4. One former maid and mother of pregnant girl who is currently dying;
5. One set of good intentions of dying woman delivering pregnant girl’s baby to wealthy white sisters named in numbers 1 and 2 above;
6. One (now formerly) pregnant girl who gets herself hired as current maid for sisters 1 and 2 in order to be near son;
7. Two cases of HIV;
8. One setting of post-apartheid South Africa;
And you’ll have what was added to my TBR due to it being soooooooo many people I follow on Instagram’s choice for Book of the Year. When will I learn that I am an old curmudgeon rather than a millennial and I don’t share a lot of these young whippersnappers’ opinions?
Positives? The black/white racial commentary was very well done. Not real heavy-handed and how both sides viewed each other was presented throughout. I also loved Ruth. I won’t forget her soon. Other than that?????
If you know me, you know that tragiporn isn’t generally my idea of a great time unless it’s done extremely well and catches me in the feelings when I’m off guard. This one was like being beaten over the head with a frying pan to get the point across.
WARNING: HERE THAR BE SPOILERS
Take:
1. One aging, suicidal, infertile, almost divorcée;
2. One nun excommunicated from the Catholic Church decades ago (after being secretly raped and impregnated by the parish priest) whose baby was taken and raised by the sisters in the convent;
3. One currently pregnant girl (who also was a victim of rape);
4. One former maid and mother of pregnant girl who is currently dying;
5. One set of good intentions of dying woman delivering pregnant girl’s baby to wealthy white sisters named in numbers 1 and 2 above;
6. One (now formerly) pregnant girl who gets herself hired as current maid for sisters 1 and 2 in order to be near son;
7. Two cases of HIV;
8. One setting of post-apartheid South Africa;
And you’ll have what was added to my TBR due to it being soooooooo many people I follow on Instagram’s choice for Book of the Year. When will I learn that I am an old curmudgeon rather than a millennial and I don’t share a lot of these young whippersnappers’ opinions?
Positives? The black/white racial commentary was very well done. Not real heavy-handed and how both sides viewed each other was presented throughout. I also loved Ruth. I won’t forget her soon. Other than that?????
If you know me, you know that tragiporn isn’t generally my idea of a great time unless it’s done extremely well and catches me in the feelings when I’m off guard. This one was like being beaten over the head with a frying pan to get the point across.
January 26, 2021
[3+] Set in South Africa in the 90s, If You Want To Make God Laugh is a light read about heavy topics - HIV, racism, adoption. Somewhat superficial, but kept me involved to the end.
April 24, 2020
This book takes place around 20 years after the events in “Hum if You Don’t Know the Words” and it shares some of the same characters. However, it is a standalone story about 3 women, each of whom has had a difficult experience with motherhood. Coincidentally, this is the second book I finished today in which a mother can not claim her relationship to her child.
This book was sometimes moving (although it also sometimes felt manipulative and sentimental and got sort of tear jerky at the end) and introduced a lot of issues including AIDS, rape, homosexuality, canned lion hunts and white supremacist Afrikaners. One of the most touching moments to me was only tangentially related to the main story. A 94 year old woman, after standing in line all day to vote for the first time after the end of Apartheid, is turned away because she has no birth certificate and was therefore unable to get an identity card. Ultimately, I preferred the author’s prior book which seemed much more focused and taught me more about the political situation in South Africa, but I’ve rounded 3.5 stars up to 4.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
This book was sometimes moving (although it also sometimes felt manipulative and sentimental and got sort of tear jerky at the end) and introduced a lot of issues including AIDS, rape, homosexuality, canned lion hunts and white supremacist Afrikaners. One of the most touching moments to me was only tangentially related to the main story. A 94 year old woman, after standing in line all day to vote for the first time after the end of Apartheid, is turned away because she has no birth certificate and was therefore unable to get an identity card. Ultimately, I preferred the author’s prior book which seemed much more focused and taught me more about the political situation in South Africa, but I’ve rounded 3.5 stars up to 4.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.
July 16, 2019
Ugh. Let’s do this.
So I just finished a book and I absolutely hated it. I was tempted to give it two stars because technically, it’s fine. Like, the writing is fine. The characters are fine. And I can see how many people would read this book and enjoy it, but I found it annoying and at times even offensive. The more I think about it, the angrier I get. So one star it is.
Really quickly, this is the story of three women in South Africa in the mid-1990s. Apartheid has ended but there is still a lot of racial strife and a lot of violence. Nelson Mandela is elected president during the course of the plot. And AIDS is well on its way to ravaging the people of Africa. Two of our main characters are white sisters: Ruth and Delilah. Ruth is an outspoken, devil-may-care, self-centered type with a surprisingly good heart while Delilah is a quiet, considerate, self-sacrificing type with a surprisingly strong dose of cynicism. These sisters are estranged from one another until circumstances find them both back in their family home. Ruth is there following a botched suicide attempt that she claims was merely a cry for attention (while trying to convince her soon-to-be-ex-husband not to leave her). Shockingly, that ploy doesn’t work. Delilah is there because the son she gave up for adoption many years ago (and which her family knows nothing about) is in a coma.
Their lives are further interrupted by our third protagonist, Zodwa, who has been raped and is now pregnant. Zodwa is also a lesbian in a time and culture where homosexuality is not allowed. So she’s got a lot on her plate and is obviously conflicted about impending motherhood. Her mother leaves the baby on the doorstep of Ruth and Delilah, then conveniently dies so that Zodwa will have no idea what happened to her baby and will spend a good chunk of the book looking for him.
Interestingly, I posted this book on Twitter as my #FridayReads and stated this: “Happy #FridayReads to a book that is determined to make me cry: If You Want to Make God Laugh, by Bianca Marais (publishing July 16!).” The author, Bianca Marais, promptly responded to me with this: “That’s the best feedback ever, Greg. Thank you.” Which really confused me because that is NOT necessarily a compliment—and in fact, while I didn’t exactly intend it as an insult, it was also DEFINITELY not intended as a compliment. And I think that’s very indicative of the problem with this book.
Consider this: Bianca Marais thinks that a book being determined to make you cry is the best feedback ever. That reveals a lot about the overly melodramatic structure of this novel and what Marais is trying to do here. Now full disclosure: I was flustered by her mistake and didn’t want to insult her, and for some reason, I felt compelled to respond, so I thanked her for writing the book. I have since deleted my response because I feel embarrassed by it, but whatever. Incidentally, I also feel like a dumdum because someone mentioned Marais’ previous book, Hum If You Don’t Know the Words, in a video recently and I commented to call THIS book beautiful—and in my defense, at the time, this book could have been beautiful. My irritation with this book built over time.
And by the way, Marais wrote a review of her own book on this site and gave it five stars, which seems doubly gross to me.
Anyway, the point is, at every turn during the course of this book, Marais actively chooses to plot things in a way that will cause maximum emotional distress—to the point that it stops feeling like people are behaving in natural ways or reacting to things in any way that makes sense. I can’t tell you how many times I thought to myself “why is X reacting this way,” only to discover that Marais it’s all part of Marais’ ploy to play a long game with your tears.
My other big complaint about this book is the chapter size. Marais writes in small bite-sized chapters—I call it the James Patterson school of writing (which is not intended as an insult, by the way). The thing I don’t like is that Marais, like Patterson, tends to end her chapters on a bit of a cliffhanger to lure the reader forward. In and of itself, that could be fine–but Marais doesn’t offer resolution on those cliffhangers right away. In one instance, Zodwa had written another character a deeply personal letter that never reached its intended recipient. Some ways into the novel, that other character reveals to Zodwa that she found that devastating letter, leading to a chapter break. The perspective shifts back to either Ruth or Delilah, which is fine since that’s the way the book is structured, but when we get back to Zodwa it’s a day later and she’s met up with that person again and not only are they not talking about that letter, they haven’t discussed it at all and will not for a little while. So we’re to assume what here? That character revealed that she found the letter and she and Zodwa just stopped talking and parted company until we the reader could come back to them? It makes absolutely no sense for so much time to pass before they discuss what happened.
Now we go into spoiler territory, because I can’t really talk about why I was offended by this book without revealing plot details. So if you might want to read this book at some point, you can stop right now and just know that I didn’t like it. At all.
Seriously, you’ve been warned.
I can’t with this book anymore. I don’t want to think about it anymore. Have you read it? Do you disagree? If so, tell me why you think I’m crazy. Alternately, tell me a book you found grossly offensive and let’s achieve catharsis together.
So I just finished a book and I absolutely hated it. I was tempted to give it two stars because technically, it’s fine. Like, the writing is fine. The characters are fine. And I can see how many people would read this book and enjoy it, but I found it annoying and at times even offensive. The more I think about it, the angrier I get. So one star it is.
Really quickly, this is the story of three women in South Africa in the mid-1990s. Apartheid has ended but there is still a lot of racial strife and a lot of violence. Nelson Mandela is elected president during the course of the plot. And AIDS is well on its way to ravaging the people of Africa. Two of our main characters are white sisters: Ruth and Delilah. Ruth is an outspoken, devil-may-care, self-centered type with a surprisingly good heart while Delilah is a quiet, considerate, self-sacrificing type with a surprisingly strong dose of cynicism. These sisters are estranged from one another until circumstances find them both back in their family home. Ruth is there following a botched suicide attempt that she claims was merely a cry for attention (while trying to convince her soon-to-be-ex-husband not to leave her). Shockingly, that ploy doesn’t work. Delilah is there because the son she gave up for adoption many years ago (and which her family knows nothing about) is in a coma.
Their lives are further interrupted by our third protagonist, Zodwa, who has been raped and is now pregnant. Zodwa is also a lesbian in a time and culture where homosexuality is not allowed. So she’s got a lot on her plate and is obviously conflicted about impending motherhood. Her mother leaves the baby on the doorstep of Ruth and Delilah, then conveniently dies so that Zodwa will have no idea what happened to her baby and will spend a good chunk of the book looking for him.
Interestingly, I posted this book on Twitter as my #FridayReads and stated this: “Happy #FridayReads to a book that is determined to make me cry: If You Want to Make God Laugh, by Bianca Marais (publishing July 16!).” The author, Bianca Marais, promptly responded to me with this: “That’s the best feedback ever, Greg. Thank you.” Which really confused me because that is NOT necessarily a compliment—and in fact, while I didn’t exactly intend it as an insult, it was also DEFINITELY not intended as a compliment. And I think that’s very indicative of the problem with this book.
Consider this: Bianca Marais thinks that a book being determined to make you cry is the best feedback ever. That reveals a lot about the overly melodramatic structure of this novel and what Marais is trying to do here. Now full disclosure: I was flustered by her mistake and didn’t want to insult her, and for some reason, I felt compelled to respond, so I thanked her for writing the book. I have since deleted my response because I feel embarrassed by it, but whatever. Incidentally, I also feel like a dumdum because someone mentioned Marais’ previous book, Hum If You Don’t Know the Words, in a video recently and I commented to call THIS book beautiful—and in my defense, at the time, this book could have been beautiful. My irritation with this book built over time.
And by the way, Marais wrote a review of her own book on this site and gave it five stars, which seems doubly gross to me.
Anyway, the point is, at every turn during the course of this book, Marais actively chooses to plot things in a way that will cause maximum emotional distress—to the point that it stops feeling like people are behaving in natural ways or reacting to things in any way that makes sense. I can’t tell you how many times I thought to myself “why is X reacting this way,” only to discover that Marais it’s all part of Marais’ ploy to play a long game with your tears.
My other big complaint about this book is the chapter size. Marais writes in small bite-sized chapters—I call it the James Patterson school of writing (which is not intended as an insult, by the way). The thing I don’t like is that Marais, like Patterson, tends to end her chapters on a bit of a cliffhanger to lure the reader forward. In and of itself, that could be fine–but Marais doesn’t offer resolution on those cliffhangers right away. In one instance, Zodwa had written another character a deeply personal letter that never reached its intended recipient. Some ways into the novel, that other character reveals to Zodwa that she found that devastating letter, leading to a chapter break. The perspective shifts back to either Ruth or Delilah, which is fine since that’s the way the book is structured, but when we get back to Zodwa it’s a day later and she’s met up with that person again and not only are they not talking about that letter, they haven’t discussed it at all and will not for a little while. So we’re to assume what here? That character revealed that she found the letter and she and Zodwa just stopped talking and parted company until we the reader could come back to them? It makes absolutely no sense for so much time to pass before they discuss what happened.
Now we go into spoiler territory, because I can’t really talk about why I was offended by this book without revealing plot details. So if you might want to read this book at some point, you can stop right now and just know that I didn’t like it. At all.
Seriously, you’ve been warned.
I can’t with this book anymore. I don’t want to think about it anymore. Have you read it? Do you disagree? If so, tell me why you think I’m crazy. Alternately, tell me a book you found grossly offensive and let’s achieve catharsis together.
November 17, 2019
“𝙸’𝚟𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 ����𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑, 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚜. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝙸’𝚟𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚠.”
-𝙱𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚊 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜, 𝙸𝚏 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚆𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚃𝚘 𝙼𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝙻𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑
I just went on the most emotional and wonderful journey while reading If You Want To Make God Laugh
and now I feel a book hangover coming on!
Set in South Africa during the 1990’s, where the HIV/AIDS epidemic is prevalent. Marais highlights different topics such as race, politics, sexual abuse, and the corruption in society in such a beautifully written way. Her writing just pulled me in from the beginning, as I fell in love with each character as they told their story. From sisters Delilah and Ruth, to young Zodwa, I loved how each story flowed chapter to chapter and I discovered more about each one.
This was such a powerful read, and one that will stay with me for a long time.
*Thank you Putnam for the giveaway win.
-𝙱𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚊 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚜, 𝙸𝚏 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚆𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚃𝚘 𝙼𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚍 𝙻𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑
I just went on the most emotional and wonderful journey while reading If You Want To Make God Laugh
and now I feel a book hangover coming on!
Set in South Africa during the 1990’s, where the HIV/AIDS epidemic is prevalent. Marais highlights different topics such as race, politics, sexual abuse, and the corruption in society in such a beautifully written way. Her writing just pulled me in from the beginning, as I fell in love with each character as they told their story. From sisters Delilah and Ruth, to young Zodwa, I loved how each story flowed chapter to chapter and I discovered more about each one.
This was such a powerful read, and one that will stay with me for a long time.
*Thank you Putnam for the giveaway win.
September 10, 2019
As women, we're told our worth and our value, and the many ways in which we fall short of others' expectations; we're told why we're whores and why society can't tolerate whores. We're reminded of the ways we dishonor the unwritten contract we didn't know we signed on the day of our birth: a contract in which we agreed to toe the line and know our place simply because we are the fairer sex.
Gender based violence is currently getting a lot of attention in South Africa and rightly so. There has been protests and marches throughout the country this week. This book reminds us why this is so necessary.
A beautifully written story set in post-Apartheid South Africa focusing on the lives of three very different women. Zodwa, a 17-year old dealing with an unwanted pregnancy, Ruth a former stripper and Delilah a former nun, forms an unlikely trio when circumstances force them to. This is a novel about motherhood in all it’s different forms. I loved that even though the book deals with themes like rape, racism and many other difficult subjects the author manages to keep a light tone.
If you want to learn more about live in South Africa – the good, the bad and the ugly, then this is a good book to start with. I’ve read some reviews judging the author because she is trying to show a non-racial sisterhood in post-apartheid and failing. I totally disagree. The author can only write what is true – showing a country and its people trying to change as quickly as possible, but still having to deal with their political and personal history.
This is my second book by Bianca Marais, and I have added her to my favorite author list. Highly recommended!
July 17, 2019
I loved the characters in Bianca's first novel, Hum If You Don't Know the Words, so much that I wanted her to write a sequel. I'm so glad she didn't because then I wouldn't have met Zodwa, Ruth, and Delilah. Such fantastic characters and an amazing story. Painful to read at times but full of heart and hope. More thoughts here: https://chriswolak.com/2019/07/16/if-...
February 20, 2024
4.5 stars. You’ve heard the saying ‘ we make plans and God laughs’ because what do we know what the future holds? Such a heartbreaking beautifully written story. I couldn’t put it down. It starts slow with three different women in different locations each going through their own stuff. It’s not until you realize their connection that the story truly begins. Highly recommend!
November 20, 2019
I loved this follow-up to Marais's stellar novel Hum If You Don't Know the Words.
The book tells the story of three women, two sisters, Ruth and Delilah, and the much younger Zodwa, whose lives become intertwined after the sisters discover an abandoned day-old baby on their doorstep. Each of the women is actively dealing with a personal crisis, and in rotating points of view, we learn each about each woman’s secrets and situation.
Readers, if you’re anything like me, you will need a tiny bit of patience in the early chapters as you get to know each woman; I do love a book with rotating perspectives, but it can also be tricky for me to keep the characters straight in the beginning when the point of view keeps shifting, so give it forty pages, and don’t be afraid to jot down a few notes to keep track of who’s who.
(I also want to note for sensitive readers that there’s a brief but disturbing reference to razor blades very early in the book, on page 11 in my copy, as the characters are all in dismal places when we meet them, but want to emphasize that while hard things may happen in this story, the telling is not graphic in any way.)
It didn’t take long for the story to sweep me away. I found this to be an absorbing tale of friendship, and redemption, and the extraordinary transformative power of love.
I also love Marais’s style: there’s a great Jane Bennet cameo, and brief appearances by real-life historical figures like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.
The book tells the story of three women, two sisters, Ruth and Delilah, and the much younger Zodwa, whose lives become intertwined after the sisters discover an abandoned day-old baby on their doorstep. Each of the women is actively dealing with a personal crisis, and in rotating points of view, we learn each about each woman’s secrets and situation.
Readers, if you’re anything like me, you will need a tiny bit of patience in the early chapters as you get to know each woman; I do love a book with rotating perspectives, but it can also be tricky for me to keep the characters straight in the beginning when the point of view keeps shifting, so give it forty pages, and don’t be afraid to jot down a few notes to keep track of who’s who.
(I also want to note for sensitive readers that there’s a brief but disturbing reference to razor blades very early in the book, on page 11 in my copy, as the characters are all in dismal places when we meet them, but want to emphasize that while hard things may happen in this story, the telling is not graphic in any way.)
It didn’t take long for the story to sweep me away. I found this to be an absorbing tale of friendship, and redemption, and the extraordinary transformative power of love.
I also love Marais’s style: there’s a great Jane Bennet cameo, and brief appearances by real-life historical figures like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.
July 31, 2019
This book begins just when Nelson Mandela is voted in, so post apartheid. But saying that apartheid is over doesn’t make it true! Racism for most Afrikaners is still as strong as ever. Much as this novel touches on what is happening in South Africa at that time (1993-94), it is not the main focus of the novel.
What is the focus are three women- Ruth, Delilah and Zodwa. All three are fighting their demons, but they all come together for one common cause- baby Mandla. We learn their back stories and thanks to the author’s fine writing, we come to care about them.These 3 women are the focus of this book, but in South Africa at this time, it is the men who rule. The women do not seem to have a voice. Through this story, we learn of the injustices against women and how women had to stand together in their plight.
Many heavy topics are touched on- HIV/AIDS, stigma of homosexuality, and racism. But it is also about the bonding of women and motherhood and love!
A truly wonderful story.
A quote I’d like to share:
“The past wasn’t a place you could just walk away from; it was something you carried with you your entire life, and year upon year as your arms got weaker, the burden just got heavier and harder to bear. But I wanted so much for him to be right because that meant I got to set it down- all that guilt and regret and shame- and leave it there.”
What is the focus are three women- Ruth, Delilah and Zodwa. All three are fighting their demons, but they all come together for one common cause- baby Mandla. We learn their back stories and thanks to the author’s fine writing, we come to care about them.These 3 women are the focus of this book, but in South Africa at this time, it is the men who rule. The women do not seem to have a voice. Through this story, we learn of the injustices against women and how women had to stand together in their plight.
Many heavy topics are touched on- HIV/AIDS, stigma of homosexuality, and racism. But it is also about the bonding of women and motherhood and love!
A truly wonderful story.
A quote I’d like to share:
“The past wasn’t a place you could just walk away from; it was something you carried with you your entire life, and year upon year as your arms got weaker, the burden just got heavier and harder to bear. But I wanted so much for him to be right because that meant I got to set it down- all that guilt and regret and shame- and leave it there.”
January 19, 2023
4.5 solid stars! What a wild ride Bianca takes you on. There are so many layers to this story but love and compassion are the two themes that stick out the most to me.
August 15, 2019
This is a heartfelt and emotional character driven book about three women and the secrets and events that connect them.
It deals with so many subjects such as grief, poverty, privilege, racism, motherhood, forgiveness and the connections and love between family that never goes away, no matter how long it's been since you've seen them or what might have been said/done.
The three separate points of view really showed how the same situation can be seen so differently depending on the person's past experiences in life. It shows how easy it is to think we know what a person is thinking or what their intentions are, but may really have no idea.
There were many parts that made me cry and many parts that made me so angry I wanted to throw the book. How people can be so cruel to others... especially a baby!!
Also on a side note, although I often prefer longer books I have always been a fan of short chapters, so I loved that. It makes it so much easier to sneak in a quick chapter whenever you get a chance throughout the day. All books should have short little chapters.
It deals with so many subjects such as grief, poverty, privilege, racism, motherhood, forgiveness and the connections and love between family that never goes away, no matter how long it's been since you've seen them or what might have been said/done.
The three separate points of view really showed how the same situation can be seen so differently depending on the person's past experiences in life. It shows how easy it is to think we know what a person is thinking or what their intentions are, but may really have no idea.
There were many parts that made me cry and many parts that made me so angry I wanted to throw the book. How people can be so cruel to others... especially a baby!!
Also on a side note, although I often prefer longer books I have always been a fan of short chapters, so I loved that. It makes it so much easier to sneak in a quick chapter whenever you get a chance throughout the day. All books should have short little chapters.
July 23, 2019
Can I please give this book 6 stars? Forget the sophomore slum, If You Want to Make God Laugh is a truly spectacular follow-up to Bianca Marais’s first novel, Hum If You Don’t Know the Words.
Marais’ emotional depiction of South Africa during the late ‘90s results in a stunning novel with depth. She covers racism, homophobia, the AIDS epidemic, and corruption in church, with eye-opening frankness and heart. Her characters take root in your mind from the first page. I found myself laughing, cheering, and crying along with their story. The ending left me absolutely shattered as I read through tears. Yet somehow, through the many difficult topics, Marais manages to weave a story filled with love and hope.
The writing is prosaic. I found myself re-reading certain lines to chew on the kernels of truth so eloquently written. Every word, every sentence, has meaning to the story.
I also loved that references back to HUM. It’s not necessary to read HUM first, but you’ll understand a bit more of a few characters if you do.
I can’t say I’m surprised that Marais wrote such a stunning novel. I look forward to reading whatever she writes in the future.
Marais’ emotional depiction of South Africa during the late ‘90s results in a stunning novel with depth. She covers racism, homophobia, the AIDS epidemic, and corruption in church, with eye-opening frankness and heart. Her characters take root in your mind from the first page. I found myself laughing, cheering, and crying along with their story. The ending left me absolutely shattered as I read through tears. Yet somehow, through the many difficult topics, Marais manages to weave a story filled with love and hope.
The writing is prosaic. I found myself re-reading certain lines to chew on the kernels of truth so eloquently written. Every word, every sentence, has meaning to the story.
I also loved that references back to HUM. It’s not necessary to read HUM first, but you’ll understand a bit more of a few characters if you do.
I can’t say I’m surprised that Marais wrote such a stunning novel. I look forward to reading whatever she writes in the future.
August 20, 2019
"As women, we're told our worth and our value, and the many ways in which we fall short of others' expectations; we're told why we're whores and why society can't tolerate whores. We're reminded of the ways we dishonor the unwritten contract we didn't know we signed on the day of our birth: a contract in which we agreed to toe the line and know our place simply because we are the fairer sex."
If You Want to Make God Laugh is about three women who ultimately defy these conventions and come to realize self acceptance.
Living in a shack outside Johannesburg is Zodwa and her ill mother. They have exhausted their resources in search of her brother. Unwed and pregnant, Zodwa's greatest fear is shaming her family.
In Capetown, Ruth fakes a suicide attempt in order to garner attention from her estranged husband.
Delilah returns to South Africa after word reaches her that her beloved has been shot.
Fate brings these three women together. What happens next is a beautiful and touching narrative about the transformative nature of humanity, grace and love.
Special thanks to Penguin Random House First to Read program for access to this book.
March 5, 2022
This review can also be found at https://carolesrandomlife.com/
I liked this book! It dealt with some pretty heavy topics but still managed to feel like a lighter read. This book tells the story of three women set against a post Apartheid South Africa also touching on the AIDS epidemic. This story was an emotional journey and I was quickly invested in the lives of these three very different women. I am so glad that I finally got around to reading this book.
Zodwa lives with her mother in extreme poverty in a squatter’s camp. She is about to have a baby which will present a whole new challenge. Delilah has spent her life working to help others after being forced to leave her role as a nun. Ruth is Delilah’s sister and polar opposite. Ruth has lived a much wilder life and is currently in the process of another divorce. A baby found by Delilah and Ruth will bring these three together. These women have lived through horrible things and my heart broke for them as we learned their stories.
I thought that this book was very well done. I liked the fact that we get the opportunity to see South Africa during this post Apartheid period from very different points of view. Zodwa sees things very differently as a young black woman than the sisters do as middle age white women. The stigma of AIDS was also an important issue in the story. I enjoyed seeing each of these women work through some of their personal demons while learning to trust each other.
I listened to the audiobook and thought that Bianca Amato, Katharine McEwan, and Bahni Turpin did an incredible job in bringing this story to life. I think that each narrator did a great job in capturing the emotion of their character’s story. I think that their voices worked well in this story and I really liked that each point of view had a different narrator. I think that the narrators’ performance added to my overall enjoyment of this story.
I would recommend this book to others. I was quickly captivated by the lives of these three women and felt invested in their lives. I definitely plan to read more from this talented author.
I received a digital review copy of this book from G.P. Putnam’s Sons via NetGalley and purchased a copy of the audiobook.
Initial Thoughts
I liked this book! It dealt with some pretty heavy topics but still managed to feel like a lighter read. This book tells the story of 3 women. The lives of these 3 women will eventually become intertwined. They have all dealt with some major hardships during their lifetimes that have shaped their lives. I listened to the audiobook and felt like the 3 narrators did an excellent job in bringing this story to life.
I liked this book! It dealt with some pretty heavy topics but still managed to feel like a lighter read. This book tells the story of three women set against a post Apartheid South Africa also touching on the AIDS epidemic. This story was an emotional journey and I was quickly invested in the lives of these three very different women. I am so glad that I finally got around to reading this book.
Zodwa lives with her mother in extreme poverty in a squatter’s camp. She is about to have a baby which will present a whole new challenge. Delilah has spent her life working to help others after being forced to leave her role as a nun. Ruth is Delilah’s sister and polar opposite. Ruth has lived a much wilder life and is currently in the process of another divorce. A baby found by Delilah and Ruth will bring these three together. These women have lived through horrible things and my heart broke for them as we learned their stories.
I thought that this book was very well done. I liked the fact that we get the opportunity to see South Africa during this post Apartheid period from very different points of view. Zodwa sees things very differently as a young black woman than the sisters do as middle age white women. The stigma of AIDS was also an important issue in the story. I enjoyed seeing each of these women work through some of their personal demons while learning to trust each other.
I listened to the audiobook and thought that Bianca Amato, Katharine McEwan, and Bahni Turpin did an incredible job in bringing this story to life. I think that each narrator did a great job in capturing the emotion of their character’s story. I think that their voices worked well in this story and I really liked that each point of view had a different narrator. I think that the narrators’ performance added to my overall enjoyment of this story.
I would recommend this book to others. I was quickly captivated by the lives of these three women and felt invested in their lives. I definitely plan to read more from this talented author.
I received a digital review copy of this book from G.P. Putnam’s Sons via NetGalley and purchased a copy of the audiobook.
Initial Thoughts
I liked this book! It dealt with some pretty heavy topics but still managed to feel like a lighter read. This book tells the story of 3 women. The lives of these 3 women will eventually become intertwined. They have all dealt with some major hardships during their lifetimes that have shaped their lives. I listened to the audiobook and felt like the 3 narrators did an excellent job in bringing this story to life.
July 5, 2019
I love it when an author comes along and unexpectedly blows my socks off. In 2017, Bianca Marais left me utterly sockless after I read her debut novel, Hum If You Don't Know The Words. It was a beautifully written story that tackled big topics with compelling characters, heart and compassion.
So, you can imagine how excited I was when I heard Marais had a new book coming out (Hint: I looost it!). So, did I love it just as much as Hum? Let's just say that Marais need not fear the dreaded 'sophomore blues'. If You Want To Make God Laugh is an engaging story with vivid characters but it also has a personal connection to the author who draws from her own experiences when she volunteered with HIV-infected children in her native country of South Africa. Her experiences bring a depth, authenticity and emotion to her writing as she describes life in 1990's South Africa as Apartheid is ending and the AIDS epidemic is taking hold.
Marais doesn't shy away from big issues such as the stigma of HIV, racism, homophobia, religious corruption and abuse of power. She sets these issues within a compelling and touching story that follows the lives of three women (and one little boy) as they find strength in each other during a time of much suffering, rampant bigotry and ignorance.
This is a well-written, impactful and powerful story that focuses on the resiliency and tenacity of women from different backgrounds as South Africa's experiences its turbulent transition to democracy.
Bianca Marais has officially been added to my list of 'must read' authors.
Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Putnam Books for providing me with a complimentary copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.
So, you can imagine how excited I was when I heard Marais had a new book coming out (Hint: I looost it!). So, did I love it just as much as Hum? Let's just say that Marais need not fear the dreaded 'sophomore blues'. If You Want To Make God Laugh is an engaging story with vivid characters but it also has a personal connection to the author who draws from her own experiences when she volunteered with HIV-infected children in her native country of South Africa. Her experiences bring a depth, authenticity and emotion to her writing as she describes life in 1990's South Africa as Apartheid is ending and the AIDS epidemic is taking hold.
Marais doesn't shy away from big issues such as the stigma of HIV, racism, homophobia, religious corruption and abuse of power. She sets these issues within a compelling and touching story that follows the lives of three women (and one little boy) as they find strength in each other during a time of much suffering, rampant bigotry and ignorance.
This is a well-written, impactful and powerful story that focuses on the resiliency and tenacity of women from different backgrounds as South Africa's experiences its turbulent transition to democracy.
Bianca Marais has officially been added to my list of 'must read' authors.
Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Putnam Books for providing me with a complimentary copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.
July 20, 2019
Fate (or was it destiny) brought Bianca Marais to the Booktopia weekend 2 years ago as a last minute addition to the lineup. I wasn't familiar with her or her book Hum If You Don’t Know the Words. She was amazing and I fell in love with this book. I wanted more! I was so excited that a new book was coming out.
I immediately dove into If You Want to Make God Laugh as soon as I picked it up from the bookstore. I had to read at least part of it before attending Bianca's book event.
I could not put this down but had to slow myself down to savor each word. Bianca gives us a beautiful and compassionate story of motherhood, sisters, secrets all pull together by love. Each chapter is told to us by one of our three main characters. They tell their own stories as they come together all because of a child. Ruth, Delilah and Nodwah are now etched forever in my heart and soul.
I immediately dove into If You Want to Make God Laugh as soon as I picked it up from the bookstore. I had to read at least part of it before attending Bianca's book event.
I could not put this down but had to slow myself down to savor each word. Bianca gives us a beautiful and compassionate story of motherhood, sisters, secrets all pull together by love. Each chapter is told to us by one of our three main characters. They tell their own stories as they come together all because of a child. Ruth, Delilah and Nodwah are now etched forever in my heart and soul.
July 23, 2019
As much of a WOW! as
Hum If You Don’t Know the Words. If I wasn't sold on Bianca Marais after meeting her at Booktopia last year...
If I wasn't sold on Bianca Marais after reading Hum If You Don’t Know the Words...
This book will do it.
Well developed characters, situations, resolutions, and explanation of a culture that I will only experience in books.
I am so thankful for Net Galley allowing me the pleasure of reading an ARC for my honest review.
Hum If You Don’t Know the Words. If I wasn't sold on Bianca Marais after meeting her at Booktopia last year...If I wasn't sold on Bianca Marais after reading Hum If You Don’t Know the Words...
This book will do it.
Well developed characters, situations, resolutions, and explanation of a culture that I will only experience in books.
I am so thankful for Net Galley allowing me the pleasure of reading an ARC for my honest review.
November 25, 2019
IF YOU WANT TO MAKE GOD LAUGH, tell him your plans... Like the women in this story this statement has rung so true for me. We struggled with infertility for almost 10 years before we were blessed with our twin boys. My mother was diagnosed with Glioblastoma and given 3 months to live in 2013 and sadly passed away just short of those 3 difficult months. In late 2016 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and while I’m now cancer free I’m still undergoing treatments and surgery to prevent it from coming back. I may have had my own plans but God had different plans for me.
In no way can I compare my story to that of the women in this story beyond the fact that tragedy can strike any of us at any time. It doesn’t play favorites and it doesn’t matter if you’ve done everything right. I loved seeing how relationships carry us through these hardships and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood and motherhood. Ruth, Delilah and Zodwa all seemed so real to me, in their struggles and desires. They will forever remain in my bookish heart.
I embarrassingly enough had no plans to pick this book up until Kristen @kraysbookclub sent me a dm saying I must read it. I took that to heart as we all know that doesn’t happen with Kristen that often. Off I went in search of the book and of course could not find a copy 🧐. Kristen then took it in her own hands and had a copy sent to me the very next day 😭. So for more reasons than I can count this book will remain a favorite. A favorite for the insightful, heartbreaking and unforgettable storytelling and for a book that was gifted at just the right time by a friend with the biggest heart. I’m so excited to discuss this with #notyomamasbookclub . If you have a chance be sure to check out @zubscovered review, it’s fantastic!
In no way can I compare my story to that of the women in this story beyond the fact that tragedy can strike any of us at any time. It doesn’t play favorites and it doesn’t matter if you’ve done everything right. I loved seeing how relationships carry us through these hardships and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood and motherhood. Ruth, Delilah and Zodwa all seemed so real to me, in their struggles and desires. They will forever remain in my bookish heart.
I embarrassingly enough had no plans to pick this book up until Kristen @kraysbookclub sent me a dm saying I must read it. I took that to heart as we all know that doesn’t happen with Kristen that often. Off I went in search of the book and of course could not find a copy 🧐. Kristen then took it in her own hands and had a copy sent to me the very next day 😭. So for more reasons than I can count this book will remain a favorite. A favorite for the insightful, heartbreaking and unforgettable storytelling and for a book that was gifted at just the right time by a friend with the biggest heart. I’m so excited to discuss this with #notyomamasbookclub . If you have a chance be sure to check out @zubscovered review, it’s fantastic!
December 19, 2019
‘If You Want To Make God Laugh’ follows the lives of three strong female characters as they live their truth against the complicated background of post-Apartheid South Africa. I was completely invested in each character. The writing was so vivid that I felt as though I was in the story alongside Ruth, Delilah and Zowda.
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What I admire about Marais is her ability to meet tough topics head on while still allowing light and compassion to shine through. This beautiful story is about mothers, family, love and loss, and how there isn't one right way to define any of them. I loved it.
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(Side note: I've been interested in South Africa since 1994 when I first read 'The Power of One' by Bryce Courtney. IYWTMGLaugh takes place in the 1990's and it added an element of nostalgia for me.)
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If you haven't read her debut, 'Hum If You Know the Words', do that now. It will tide you over until the July 16th release date for 'If You Want To Make God Laugh'.
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Thank you @biancamarais_author for trusting me with an early copy. I can only imagine the real or implied pressure for a sophomore novel, but in my opinion- you nailed it!
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What I admire about Marais is her ability to meet tough topics head on while still allowing light and compassion to shine through. This beautiful story is about mothers, family, love and loss, and how there isn't one right way to define any of them. I loved it.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
(Side note: I've been interested in South Africa since 1994 when I first read 'The Power of One' by Bryce Courtney. IYWTMGLaugh takes place in the 1990's and it added an element of nostalgia for me.)
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If you haven't read her debut, 'Hum If You Know the Words', do that now. It will tide you over until the July 16th release date for 'If You Want To Make God Laugh'.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Thank you @biancamarais_author for trusting me with an early copy. I can only imagine the real or implied pressure for a sophomore novel, but in my opinion- you nailed it!
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July 4, 2019
So Bianca Marais, I put the blame squarely on you! Your book has kept me reading way too late at night, caused me to be late for or miss entirely appointments because I had to read 'just one more chapter'. Friends and family are waiting for me to return calls, texts, and emails, because I couldn't\wouldn't out the book down. Finally, I hold you responsible for all the crying, heartbreak, laughter, and joy I experienced reading your book.
Okay, I really thank you for the lives of three woman that remain in my head and heart long after I finished.
This is a wonderful story of race, family, forgiveness, and change as told in the lives of three women, and how they find each other and find themselves. Loved it - read it now please.
Okay, I really thank you for the lives of three woman that remain in my head and heart long after I finished.
This is a wonderful story of race, family, forgiveness, and change as told in the lives of three women, and how they find each other and find themselves. Loved it - read it now please.
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