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A Sin of Omission
Torn from his parents as a boy in the 1870s, Stephen Mzamane is picked by the Anglican church to train at the Missionary College in Canterbury and then returned to southern Africa’s Cape Colony to be a preacher.
He is a brilliant success, but troubles stalk him: his unresolved relationship with his family and people, the condescension of church leaders towards their own native pastors, and That Woman—seen once in a photograph and never forgotten.
And now he has to find his mother and take her a message that will break her heart.
In this raw and compelling story, Marguerite Poland employs her considerable experience as a writer and specialist in South African languages to recreate the polarised, duplicitous world of Victorian colonialism and its betrayal of the very people it claimed to be enlightening.
A masterpiece—and an award-winner.
He is a brilliant success, but troubles stalk him: his unresolved relationship with his family and people, the condescension of church leaders towards their own native pastors, and That Woman—seen once in a photograph and never forgotten.
And now he has to find his mother and take her a message that will break her heart.
In this raw and compelling story, Marguerite Poland employs her considerable experience as a writer and specialist in South African languages to recreate the polarised, duplicitous world of Victorian colonialism and its betrayal of the very people it claimed to be enlightening.
A masterpiece—and an award-winner.
428 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2019
32 people are currently reading
377 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
May 16, 2021
This is beautifully written and highlights a piece of South African history that I was completely unaware of, namely the training of Black boys by British colonialists in the middle 1800's to become missionaries in the Anglican church. The story is loosely based on the life of Stephen Mnyakama who was sent to Nondyola where the author's great-grandfather was also stationed.
Stephen Malusi Mzamane is starving when Reverend Rutherford finds him and takes him to his missionary station. Stephen's father also hands his brother, Mzamo, over to the missionary as they are unable to care for the boys. Stephen is eventually educated in Grahamstown and then sent to Canterbury, England to complete his training as a missionary. Along the way, expectations are created by those in charge and so often not fulfilled. Stephen finds himself belonging nowhere - he is a Black African in Victorian England, a Black Englishmen in Grahamstown and Ngqika between Mfengu at his mission.
Highly recommend this book for those interested in South African history.
Stephen Malusi Mzamane is starving when Reverend Rutherford finds him and takes him to his missionary station. Stephen's father also hands his brother, Mzamo, over to the missionary as they are unable to care for the boys. Stephen is eventually educated in Grahamstown and then sent to Canterbury, England to complete his training as a missionary. Along the way, expectations are created by those in charge and so often not fulfilled. Stephen finds himself belonging nowhere - he is a Black African in Victorian England, a Black Englishmen in Grahamstown and Ngqika between Mfengu at his mission.
Highly recommend this book for those interested in South African history.
December 11, 2025
Heartbreaking.Eye opening. Brilliant.
February 13, 2020
This story will resonate with me for a long time. I was inexorably drawn to Malusi Mzamane and felt his disappointments, ridiculing, betrayals and mockery. He persevered tenaciously in trying to make meaning of his roles as son, brother, man, priest and friend while simultaneously trying to decipher what his commitment was to his culture and to his God.
With two exceptions, ( one erratic and both distant ) he was totally unsupported. His parishioners were well-meaning but inconsistent. The descriptions of the harsh eastern cape landscape and grinding poverty caused especially by alternating droughts and floods, add depth to the narration. As a Port Elizabethan I am familiar with the area described and I was readily transported there.
I was moved to tears at the slights Malusi had to endure and was forced to examine my own behaviour and culpability.
With two exceptions, ( one erratic and both distant ) he was totally unsupported. His parishioners were well-meaning but inconsistent. The descriptions of the harsh eastern cape landscape and grinding poverty caused especially by alternating droughts and floods, add depth to the narration. As a Port Elizabethan I am familiar with the area described and I was readily transported there.
I was moved to tears at the slights Malusi had to endure and was forced to examine my own behaviour and culpability.
November 4, 2019
Wrenchingly and emotional story that explores the complexity of history and family.
Over fifty years ago, Marguerite Poland’s great uncle told her ‘the poignant story of a young man at his grandfather’s mission station in the Eastern Cape.’ It was the story of Reverend Stephen Mtutuko Mnyakama. It ‘lodged in her heart’ and half a century later, it has finally ‘found an expression’.
The Rev Stephen Malusi Mzamane in Poland’s book is not the original Stephen, but it was Mnyakama’s life that inspired this book. The story itself has in turn been informed by and grown from a marathon of research. Research that had its origins in the Cory Library in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) and took her all the way, amongst other places, to the Missionary College in Canterbury, England wherein 1869, fresh from the Native College in Grahamstown the young Stephen Mzamane was sent to study.
Two things were key to his sojourn at Canterbury: one was his firm friendship with the boisterous young Albert Newnham. Until that is, ‘Bertie’ falls in love with Unity, daughter of respected Precentor Dr Wills. The other is a photograph: a portrait of ‘Kaffir Woman’ that was, in a sense, to both comforts and haunted him throughout his life.
On his premature return to South Africa, Stephen is posted to Nodyoba, a mission station as humble and far removed from his dreams as is possible. But this is not all he has to contend with. There is the tension between him and his accomplished, rakish and prominent older brother Mzamo – who, had it not been for his fiery spirit should have been the one sent to England.
There is the conflict of loyalty between his traditional heritage and his learned, deep commitment to God and his missionary vows. Simply put, a clash between ‘the ancestors and the angels.’ More cruelly there is the judgemental mindset of the colonial missionaries and their wives (amongst them Albert’s Unity). Whilst Poland makes no judgements herself, the words and deeds of her characters speak volumes about hypocrisy, prejudice and power.
The betrayals are almost too numerous to bear, but most difficult for Stephen is his brother’s infidelity which leaves him impossibly divided. That and the apparent schism in his friendship with Albert. But as a foundling (Stephen went astray as a child which is why he originally came to be taken in by missionaries), he has been estranged and distanced from his beloved, rural and anguished mother for the better part of his life. Towards the end of the book, he is duty-bound to take her a letter with the worst imaginable tidings and is forced to make a choice.
In the context of modern-day South Africa, this is a wrenchingly emotional story to revisit. But the multi-award-winning Poland has done what she set out to do, to immortalise the original Rev Stephen, vindicate him and give him his rightful place in history. Be sure to read with care, understanding – and possibly a box of tissues. Poland’s writing is as poignant as the story itself.
Nancy Richards
Woman Zone Cape Town received a copy of the book to review, on behalf of Breakaway Reviewers.
Over fifty years ago, Marguerite Poland’s great uncle told her ‘the poignant story of a young man at his grandfather’s mission station in the Eastern Cape.’ It was the story of Reverend Stephen Mtutuko Mnyakama. It ‘lodged in her heart’ and half a century later, it has finally ‘found an expression’.
The Rev Stephen Malusi Mzamane in Poland’s book is not the original Stephen, but it was Mnyakama’s life that inspired this book. The story itself has in turn been informed by and grown from a marathon of research. Research that had its origins in the Cory Library in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) and took her all the way, amongst other places, to the Missionary College in Canterbury, England wherein 1869, fresh from the Native College in Grahamstown the young Stephen Mzamane was sent to study.
Two things were key to his sojourn at Canterbury: one was his firm friendship with the boisterous young Albert Newnham. Until that is, ‘Bertie’ falls in love with Unity, daughter of respected Precentor Dr Wills. The other is a photograph: a portrait of ‘Kaffir Woman’ that was, in a sense, to both comforts and haunted him throughout his life.
On his premature return to South Africa, Stephen is posted to Nodyoba, a mission station as humble and far removed from his dreams as is possible. But this is not all he has to contend with. There is the tension between him and his accomplished, rakish and prominent older brother Mzamo – who, had it not been for his fiery spirit should have been the one sent to England.
There is the conflict of loyalty between his traditional heritage and his learned, deep commitment to God and his missionary vows. Simply put, a clash between ‘the ancestors and the angels.’ More cruelly there is the judgemental mindset of the colonial missionaries and their wives (amongst them Albert’s Unity). Whilst Poland makes no judgements herself, the words and deeds of her characters speak volumes about hypocrisy, prejudice and power.
The betrayals are almost too numerous to bear, but most difficult for Stephen is his brother’s infidelity which leaves him impossibly divided. That and the apparent schism in his friendship with Albert. But as a foundling (Stephen went astray as a child which is why he originally came to be taken in by missionaries), he has been estranged and distanced from his beloved, rural and anguished mother for the better part of his life. Towards the end of the book, he is duty-bound to take her a letter with the worst imaginable tidings and is forced to make a choice.
In the context of modern-day South Africa, this is a wrenchingly emotional story to revisit. But the multi-award-winning Poland has done what she set out to do, to immortalise the original Rev Stephen, vindicate him and give him his rightful place in history. Be sure to read with care, understanding – and possibly a box of tissues. Poland’s writing is as poignant as the story itself.
Nancy Richards
Woman Zone Cape Town received a copy of the book to review, on behalf of Breakaway Reviewers.
November 19, 2023
Make me cry, you’re getting five stars. It’s as simple as that. It’s easy for movies to do it - because it’s dark, and no one can see you, and they’re in charge of the pacing and the volume and the immersion - it’s very rare for books to triumph over my inherent waspiness. When they do, I’m grateful for the experience.
I was put off my the title of this book, which sounds so staid and serious, but I gave it a shot because I have a deep love for the rural Eastern Cape, where it’s set, and an interest in the history of that part of the world. In the beginning, I found it a bit slow. The story of Stephen Mzamane, a Xhosa boy rescued from famine by a missionary, and raised to become a missionary himself - sent to England and then home to a rural parish on the contested border of the Cape Colony in the 1870s. (Based on a true story).
Poland writes his experiences so beautifully, and with such sensitivity, showing us the impossibility of Stephen’s place in the world - caught between the colonists and the ‘natives’, the Christians and the ‘heathens’, wrenched from one culture but not allowed fully into the other. Those were dramatic times, during the Frontier Wars, and initially I thought Poland was downplaying the drama, being too muted and coy, but as the novel progressed I realised there was something very different going on. The relentless disappointments and isolation of Stephen’s life build slowly in the background, until it’s too much to bear.
A beautiful novel. I feel bruised, but richer, for having read it.
I was put off my the title of this book, which sounds so staid and serious, but I gave it a shot because I have a deep love for the rural Eastern Cape, where it’s set, and an interest in the history of that part of the world. In the beginning, I found it a bit slow. The story of Stephen Mzamane, a Xhosa boy rescued from famine by a missionary, and raised to become a missionary himself - sent to England and then home to a rural parish on the contested border of the Cape Colony in the 1870s. (Based on a true story).
Poland writes his experiences so beautifully, and with such sensitivity, showing us the impossibility of Stephen’s place in the world - caught between the colonists and the ‘natives’, the Christians and the ‘heathens’, wrenched from one culture but not allowed fully into the other. Those were dramatic times, during the Frontier Wars, and initially I thought Poland was downplaying the drama, being too muted and coy, but as the novel progressed I realised there was something very different going on. The relentless disappointments and isolation of Stephen’s life build slowly in the background, until it’s too much to bear.
A beautiful novel. I feel bruised, but richer, for having read it.
January 2, 2020
Marguerite Poland is one of my very favourite authors, and she doesn't disappoint with this novel, her first for some years. This is a powerful, moving, and often agonising story inspired by the life of a young African deacon (Reverend Stephen Mtutuko Mnyakama) who died in the Eastern Cape in 1885. It is meticulously researched with convincing attention to detail in the descriptions of both people and places, made even more authentic with the incorporation of many words, phrases and sentences in isiXhosa. As the Archbishop of Cape Town comments on the back cover: Marguerite Poland "has written an incredibly moving and compassionate yet piercing historical account which both demands apologies for the sins of the past yet is also redemptive". Everyone interested in the history of South Africa in the late 19th century, and anyone intrigued by the clash of cultures and beliefs inherent in the activities of the missionary societies during the colonial period, and anyone else, for that matter, would do well to read this book.
June 8, 2021
Beautifully written and researched.
October 14, 2024
A historical novel that gives one a real insight into the history, with a vivid sense of time and place. The characters are detailed and believable, and this is a classic of South African literature.
An Anglican deacon, Stephen Malusi Mzamane, is on his way to tell his mother, whom he has not seen since he was a small child, of the death of his elder brother. The story of his life, and how he came to this point, is told in a series of flashbacks. He was based at Trinity Mission at Nodyoba, near Fort Beaufort, in the 1870s, where he had to serve alone, without a resident priest.
The flashbacks tell the story of his life -- how he and his elder brother were found starving after the cattle-killing of 1858, rescued by an Anglican priest and sent to school. There he was called to the ordained minister of the Anglican Church, and sent to St Augustine's Missionary College in Canterbury, England, for training. At the college his best friend is Albert Newnham, who is also destined to serve in the eastern Cape Colony. They dream of working together, but this dream is never realised, and circumstances conspire to keep them apart for most of the time.
It is those circumstances, the setting and the people, that put obstacles in their way. One of the themes of the story is their friendship, which should have supported both of them in their ministry, but did not.
One of the themes of the story is the tension between the call to Christian ministry, and the ties of family and cultural background that undermine it. Stephen feels the tension initially with his elder brother; Albert with his wife. But it is part of a wider social setting, and it comes out quite strongly in the book -- the Xhosa-speaking clergy are painfully aware of the tensions between their Christian faith and secular Xhosa culture; the English-speaking clergy, whether colonial or from overseas, are, with one or two exceptions, not aware of the tension between their Christian faith and their own British secular culture.
Of course this is fiction, and the author chooses how to portray such things and write them into the story, but I believe, from my own study of history and experience of church life in South Africa, that her portrayal is spot on. She tells it like it was, and in some ways still is.
One interesting, and perhaps telling sldelight is that in its submission guidelines Penguin South Africa says it will not usually accept fiction manuscripts dealing with religion, so this one must have been pretty unusual to jump over that hurdle and be accepted.
It is a sad story, but well told, and well worth reading.
An Anglican deacon, Stephen Malusi Mzamane, is on his way to tell his mother, whom he has not seen since he was a small child, of the death of his elder brother. The story of his life, and how he came to this point, is told in a series of flashbacks. He was based at Trinity Mission at Nodyoba, near Fort Beaufort, in the 1870s, where he had to serve alone, without a resident priest.
The flashbacks tell the story of his life -- how he and his elder brother were found starving after the cattle-killing of 1858, rescued by an Anglican priest and sent to school. There he was called to the ordained minister of the Anglican Church, and sent to St Augustine's Missionary College in Canterbury, England, for training. At the college his best friend is Albert Newnham, who is also destined to serve in the eastern Cape Colony. They dream of working together, but this dream is never realised, and circumstances conspire to keep them apart for most of the time.
It is those circumstances, the setting and the people, that put obstacles in their way. One of the themes of the story is their friendship, which should have supported both of them in their ministry, but did not.
One of the themes of the story is the tension between the call to Christian ministry, and the ties of family and cultural background that undermine it. Stephen feels the tension initially with his elder brother; Albert with his wife. But it is part of a wider social setting, and it comes out quite strongly in the book -- the Xhosa-speaking clergy are painfully aware of the tensions between their Christian faith and secular Xhosa culture; the English-speaking clergy, whether colonial or from overseas, are, with one or two exceptions, not aware of the tension between their Christian faith and their own British secular culture.
Of course this is fiction, and the author chooses how to portray such things and write them into the story, but I believe, from my own study of history and experience of church life in South Africa, that her portrayal is spot on. She tells it like it was, and in some ways still is.
One interesting, and perhaps telling sldelight is that in its submission guidelines Penguin South Africa says it will not usually accept fiction manuscripts dealing with religion, so this one must have been pretty unusual to jump over that hurdle and be accepted.
It is a sad story, but well told, and well worth reading.
July 23, 2021
Marguerite Poland is a prolific author and writer of fiction and non-fiction works. Over the years, she has enriched the nation’s literary landscape with excellent works, which draw on her diverse South African experience, which includes being fluent in Xhosa.
Born in Johannesburg in 1950, Marguerite became one of the first fourth-generation students to enroll at Rhodes University in 1968 and her great-grandfather Reverend AW Brereton was the first Registrar of Rhodes University.
She has written six novels, four non-fiction books, and fifteen illustrated children's books. I have read two of her other books - “Taken Captive by Birds” and one of her children's books "The Mantis and the Moon" which I have also reviewed. I also look forward to reading one of her non-fiction works, “The Abundant Herds – A Celebration of the Nguni Cattle of the Zulu People”.
This novel unfolds from where Stephen Malusi Mzamane is starving when Reverend Rutherford finds him and takes him to his missionary station. Stephen's father also hands his brother, Mzamo, over to the missionary as they are unable to care for the boys. Stephen was educated in Native School in Grahamstown, where Henry Turvey was the principal. He was then sent to Canterbury, England to complete his training as a missionary, from where he returned in 1869. As it turned out Henry Turvey played a prominent role in Stephen’s life. Along the way, expectations are created by those in charge that are not so often fulfilled. Stephen finds himself belonging nowhere - he is a Black African in Victorian England, a Black Englishmen in Grahamstown, a Ngqika between Mfengu at his mission.
On his return to South Africa, Stephen is relegated to a dilapidated mission near Fort Beaufort, where he had to confront not only the prejudices of colonial society but the discrimination within the Church itself. He survived on a starvation stipend, and it was sad for me to observe that the Church provided him with a horse to assist with his missionary work but didn’t provide him with a saddle. He was also denied basic support from the Church which included that progress in being ordained as a Priest was neglected to the extent that younger missionaries were advanced before him.
This book was loosely based on a true story. Over fifty years ago, Marguerite Poland’s great uncle told her the poignant story of a young man at his grandfather’s mission station in the Eastern Cape. It was the story of Reverend Stephen Mtutuko Mnyakama and it ‘lodged in her heart’ and half a century later, it has finally ‘found an expression’. She managed to skillfully and integrate this story into the research that she undertook in writing this book.
The book culminates with Stephen having to journey to his mother’s house to inform her of his brother’s death, who was killed in captivity in Cape Town. This journey provides decisive in resolving the contradictions that tear at his heart. This book is an emotional and poignant story which was difficult to follow at times if you don’t understand Xhosa. It came as a thunderbolt and heart-wrenching conclusion when Stephen committed suicide and how he carefully planned it by leaving letters to the people that he valued and respected.
It surprises me that Marguerite Poland hasn’t received greater recognition for her books. She has shown great versatility and skill in producing outstanding books that are both fiction and non-fiction.
This book received an average rating of 4,5 stars rating by contributors to the Goodreads website. I upped the rating to 5-stars because this book was well researched and beautifully written. It’s a book that should have been widely reported and recognized as one of the masterpieces of South African literature
Born in Johannesburg in 1950, Marguerite became one of the first fourth-generation students to enroll at Rhodes University in 1968 and her great-grandfather Reverend AW Brereton was the first Registrar of Rhodes University.
She has written six novels, four non-fiction books, and fifteen illustrated children's books. I have read two of her other books - “Taken Captive by Birds” and one of her children's books "The Mantis and the Moon" which I have also reviewed. I also look forward to reading one of her non-fiction works, “The Abundant Herds – A Celebration of the Nguni Cattle of the Zulu People”.
This novel unfolds from where Stephen Malusi Mzamane is starving when Reverend Rutherford finds him and takes him to his missionary station. Stephen's father also hands his brother, Mzamo, over to the missionary as they are unable to care for the boys. Stephen was educated in Native School in Grahamstown, where Henry Turvey was the principal. He was then sent to Canterbury, England to complete his training as a missionary, from where he returned in 1869. As it turned out Henry Turvey played a prominent role in Stephen’s life. Along the way, expectations are created by those in charge that are not so often fulfilled. Stephen finds himself belonging nowhere - he is a Black African in Victorian England, a Black Englishmen in Grahamstown, a Ngqika between Mfengu at his mission.
On his return to South Africa, Stephen is relegated to a dilapidated mission near Fort Beaufort, where he had to confront not only the prejudices of colonial society but the discrimination within the Church itself. He survived on a starvation stipend, and it was sad for me to observe that the Church provided him with a horse to assist with his missionary work but didn’t provide him with a saddle. He was also denied basic support from the Church which included that progress in being ordained as a Priest was neglected to the extent that younger missionaries were advanced before him.
This book was loosely based on a true story. Over fifty years ago, Marguerite Poland’s great uncle told her the poignant story of a young man at his grandfather’s mission station in the Eastern Cape. It was the story of Reverend Stephen Mtutuko Mnyakama and it ‘lodged in her heart’ and half a century later, it has finally ‘found an expression’. She managed to skillfully and integrate this story into the research that she undertook in writing this book.
The book culminates with Stephen having to journey to his mother’s house to inform her of his brother’s death, who was killed in captivity in Cape Town. This journey provides decisive in resolving the contradictions that tear at his heart. This book is an emotional and poignant story which was difficult to follow at times if you don’t understand Xhosa. It came as a thunderbolt and heart-wrenching conclusion when Stephen committed suicide and how he carefully planned it by leaving letters to the people that he valued and respected.
It surprises me that Marguerite Poland hasn’t received greater recognition for her books. She has shown great versatility and skill in producing outstanding books that are both fiction and non-fiction.
This book received an average rating of 4,5 stars rating by contributors to the Goodreads website. I upped the rating to 5-stars because this book was well researched and beautifully written. It’s a book that should have been widely reported and recognized as one of the masterpieces of South African literature
February 22, 2020
"They have smashed the bells. All over Kaffraria the sound has ceased. There is a great silence. More profound, more still than the dim before the dawn. A great conspiracy of emptiness except for the sound of the wind - vaulting, powerful.
Once, for Stephen Mzamane, every hour of every day had been marked by the ringing of the bell. In over twenty years, it had proclaimed the time for waking, washing, matins, breakfast, lessons, dinner, handwork, supper, prayers, bed."
Marguerite Poland's beautifully crafted book tells the story of the Anglican priest, Stephen Malusi Mzamane. In the mid-1860s, when he was a child, his father handed him over to a reverend. Stephen is educated at the native college in Grahamstown before being shipped off to Canterbury to study there to become ordained.
But it’s not an easy journey. In Canterbury, he’s kind of treated like a gentleman; he becomes rather like an Englishman but the moment he returns home he’s very much seen as a black man and treated with prejudice, as if he was dirty. Stephen is also sent off to a backwater mission where there’s nothing, no books to learn from, no proper church or congregation...
Then, a war breaks out between his clan, the Ngqika and the British. His loyalties are torn. Does he support his people who are fighting an unjust system? Or does he uphold his faith and his vows?
The book’s title refers to things that are unsaid, for example, the things people don't tell Stephen, such as of the discriminatory judgments that aren’t expressed. Stephen also refrains from telling his best friend, Albert Newman, about his struggles while Albert has his own secrets.
The book is a sweeping saga that explores the horrible bigotry of colonialism and the church. It's written with the sensitivity necessary for a white writer to take on a task like this. Poland's research is meticulous and her insight is awe-inspiring.
Once, for Stephen Mzamane, every hour of every day had been marked by the ringing of the bell. In over twenty years, it had proclaimed the time for waking, washing, matins, breakfast, lessons, dinner, handwork, supper, prayers, bed."
Marguerite Poland's beautifully crafted book tells the story of the Anglican priest, Stephen Malusi Mzamane. In the mid-1860s, when he was a child, his father handed him over to a reverend. Stephen is educated at the native college in Grahamstown before being shipped off to Canterbury to study there to become ordained.
But it’s not an easy journey. In Canterbury, he’s kind of treated like a gentleman; he becomes rather like an Englishman but the moment he returns home he’s very much seen as a black man and treated with prejudice, as if he was dirty. Stephen is also sent off to a backwater mission where there’s nothing, no books to learn from, no proper church or congregation...
Then, a war breaks out between his clan, the Ngqika and the British. His loyalties are torn. Does he support his people who are fighting an unjust system? Or does he uphold his faith and his vows?
The book’s title refers to things that are unsaid, for example, the things people don't tell Stephen, such as of the discriminatory judgments that aren’t expressed. Stephen also refrains from telling his best friend, Albert Newman, about his struggles while Albert has his own secrets.
The book is a sweeping saga that explores the horrible bigotry of colonialism and the church. It's written with the sensitivity necessary for a white writer to take on a task like this. Poland's research is meticulous and her insight is awe-inspiring.
December 2, 2021
Stephen Mzamane’s life isn’t quite what he’d hoped.
A Sin of Omission is, quite simply, a remarkable book. I’m not sure that I enjoyed reading it, because, despite its historical setting it felt too raw, only too familiar in a world supposedly now more enlightened, and so emotionally charged that it was a book that consumed and affected me as much as it entertained.
Inspired by a real-life person, Marguerite Poland’s depth of research, the beauty and variety of her writing, and her complete understanding of the human condition so sensitively portrayed here is amazing. A Sin of Omission is a feast for the senses and the writing is intense. I found the smatterings of local language added both to the authenticity of the narrative and the sense of place as well as to my feeling of otherness so that I experienced some of Stephen’s emotions with him.
Stephen is a complex character who touches the reader entirely. A man more sinned against than sinning he is not himself blameless so that he feels fully rounded and realistic.
Beautiful, affecting and assiduously researched writing aside, with powerfully depicted characters, A Sin of Omission is so impactful because of the themes Marguerite Poland explores. Our identity, race, sense of belonging and isolation, duty and belief, selfishness and generosity, all layer the textures of the narrative
I found A Sin of Omission a difficult book to read. It caused me to rage at the establishment of the late 1800s, to realise we are not so far advanced now as we might like to believe, and to grieve for a man displaced by his own existence; by his own sins of omission as well as those of others. A Sin of Omission is a book I won’t forget in a hurry.
A Sin of Omission is, quite simply, a remarkable book. I’m not sure that I enjoyed reading it, because, despite its historical setting it felt too raw, only too familiar in a world supposedly now more enlightened, and so emotionally charged that it was a book that consumed and affected me as much as it entertained.
Inspired by a real-life person, Marguerite Poland’s depth of research, the beauty and variety of her writing, and her complete understanding of the human condition so sensitively portrayed here is amazing. A Sin of Omission is a feast for the senses and the writing is intense. I found the smatterings of local language added both to the authenticity of the narrative and the sense of place as well as to my feeling of otherness so that I experienced some of Stephen’s emotions with him.
Stephen is a complex character who touches the reader entirely. A man more sinned against than sinning he is not himself blameless so that he feels fully rounded and realistic.
Beautiful, affecting and assiduously researched writing aside, with powerfully depicted characters, A Sin of Omission is so impactful because of the themes Marguerite Poland explores. Our identity, race, sense of belonging and isolation, duty and belief, selfishness and generosity, all layer the textures of the narrative
I found A Sin of Omission a difficult book to read. It caused me to rage at the establishment of the late 1800s, to realise we are not so far advanced now as we might like to believe, and to grieve for a man displaced by his own existence; by his own sins of omission as well as those of others. A Sin of Omission is a book I won’t forget in a hurry.
October 18, 2021
I loved this book.
Written so beautifully with great compassion and a deep understanding of the times, Marguerite Poland’s latest book is a moving story inspired by the life of a young African deacon, the Reverend Stephen Mtutuko Mnyakama, who had lived and died in the Eastern Cape in 1885.
Introducing the little known period of South African history when Blacks were sent to England to be trained as missionaries in the Anglican church, Marguerite Poland’s protagonist, Stephen Malusi Mzamane, suffered the confusion of who he was meant to be – a good son and brother or a priest foregoing some of his traditional ways? A Black African in Victorian England, or a Black Englishmen in the Eastern Cape? Out of place wherever he went, posted to a remote and poor church, he was ignored and betrayed by those who should have been supporting him. With the exception of an Irish missionary and his wife, and his colleague from Canterbury, it is sad to realise that even those who should have been working alongside him, put their own ambitions and bigoted feelings before true Christianity.
With the use of isiXhosa words and phrases, the realistic descriptions of people, the harsh way of life and the unique landscape of the Eastern Cape, meticulously researched, A Sin of Omission is a well-deserved award-winning novel, and a truly moving and wonderful book. Highly recommended.
Written so beautifully with great compassion and a deep understanding of the times, Marguerite Poland’s latest book is a moving story inspired by the life of a young African deacon, the Reverend Stephen Mtutuko Mnyakama, who had lived and died in the Eastern Cape in 1885.
Introducing the little known period of South African history when Blacks were sent to England to be trained as missionaries in the Anglican church, Marguerite Poland’s protagonist, Stephen Malusi Mzamane, suffered the confusion of who he was meant to be – a good son and brother or a priest foregoing some of his traditional ways? A Black African in Victorian England, or a Black Englishmen in the Eastern Cape? Out of place wherever he went, posted to a remote and poor church, he was ignored and betrayed by those who should have been supporting him. With the exception of an Irish missionary and his wife, and his colleague from Canterbury, it is sad to realise that even those who should have been working alongside him, put their own ambitions and bigoted feelings before true Christianity.
With the use of isiXhosa words and phrases, the realistic descriptions of people, the harsh way of life and the unique landscape of the Eastern Cape, meticulously researched, A Sin of Omission is a well-deserved award-winning novel, and a truly moving and wonderful book. Highly recommended.
October 2, 2021
I read this with my bookclub and as a real treat on meeting night we had the author attend via Zoom. Marguerite explained how much research had gone into A Sin of Omission (a friend in the UK scanned in 10,000 letters for her) and how personal a story it was for her (Marguerite lived and worked in Grahamstown, the main South African setting for the story). The day after our meeting A Sin of Omission won the Sunday Times CNA literary award. The book is in the literary genre and in the first chapters moves frequently between past and present tense making for quite dense reading. After the initial chapters, however, the language is easy to read and includes many isiXhosa words. A Sin of Omission is a simple story in one sense because of its focus on a small, little-known time in history: when black clergy were sent to Cambridge in the UK in the 1800s to further their theological studies before being assigned to South African churches. Protagonist Stephen Mzamane, one such educated clergyman, experiences alienation and prejudice at every turn after his education: from the English, from his denomination, from his fellow countrymen, and even from his friends. A Sin of Omission follow Stephen from his introduction to the church to his remote posting. It is a deeply sad story.
April 25, 2022
This is a beautifully written story which is based on real events and missionaries in the 1880’s who were trained in England and then sent out to South Africa. One clergyman was white and and one was black. It was eye opening to read how these two people were treated so differently, in fact it was actually difficult to read in parts.
It’s clear that a lot of research has gone into this and I learnt so much while reading it. I wasn’t expecting this to be a happy read, but at the same time I wasn’t expecting the raw emotions that the story provoked within me. This is a highly charged emotional read and I really enjoyed it!
The author painted a very vivid picture in my mind of what things were like back then and unfortunately, it seems that we are not much further forward in the present day when it comes to racism, although more is being done this story is a reminder that more needs to be done.
A solid 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟
It’s clear that a lot of research has gone into this and I learnt so much while reading it. I wasn’t expecting this to be a happy read, but at the same time I wasn’t expecting the raw emotions that the story provoked within me. This is a highly charged emotional read and I really enjoyed it!
The author painted a very vivid picture in my mind of what things were like back then and unfortunately, it seems that we are not much further forward in the present day when it comes to racism, although more is being done this story is a reminder that more needs to be done.
A solid 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟
November 25, 2021
A heartfelt story, so well told.
It’s hard to look back at the level of pain caused by racism and colonialism in South Africa. Here is just one such story within the missionary church.
Poland has done significant research to bring this to
us with such a sense of time and place: of the beauty of the landscape as well as its hardships.
Her characters are believable and well described.
This is not an easy read… but for those wanting a story that feels like history, well written and absorbing, this is your book.
It’s hard to look back at the level of pain caused by racism and colonialism in South Africa. Here is just one such story within the missionary church.
Poland has done significant research to bring this to
us with such a sense of time and place: of the beauty of the landscape as well as its hardships.
Her characters are believable and well described.
This is not an easy read… but for those wanting a story that feels like history, well written and absorbing, this is your book.
September 26, 2022
An insightful look at the Anglican Church and it’s missions work in South Africa. The protagonist, Rev. Stephen Malusi Mzamane and his brother Mzamo are both taken in and relinquished by their father to Anglican Christians as young boys, due to a period of starvation. Raised to be Anglican priests their paths diverge as they react to colonialism and the inherent racism of the Anglican Church. This is a thoughtful and well researched and written novel about history and tribal wars in the second half of the 19th century. Highly recommended.
April 17, 2020
3.8 A disturbing, depressing read but also an eye opener to the so called missionary work in the history of the British (and I suppose other) colonies in Africa. It records the life of a British educated black missionary and his struggle to reconcile his Christian beliefs and his ingrained sense of belonging to his own culture.
June 10, 2020
I finish this book as the world cries that Black Lives Matter and I feel deep sadness. It seems that nothing has changed and we learn nothing from the horrors of slavery and colonialism. I hope I can later read this review and find that I was wrong, that we can change and be better. Until then, I remember this heartbreaking story and wonder how many lived a life similar.
September 5, 2023
AD-PR - thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book.
Heart wrenching. An interesting and compelling exposure of the betrayal and mistreatment of a people by the "enlightened" colonialists. It made me so angry the way a good person was treated. Although slow to start, I was soon absorbed by Stephen's story, and by the end I was in tears.
Heart wrenching. An interesting and compelling exposure of the betrayal and mistreatment of a people by the "enlightened" colonialists. It made me so angry the way a good person was treated. Although slow to start, I was soon absorbed by Stephen's story, and by the end I was in tears.
September 12, 2020
A fascinating and insightful read. Historical fiction of a period in South Africa that has enlightened me no end!
A slow read initially, but a page turner after persevering for a couple of chapters: exquisite!
A slow read initially, but a page turner after persevering for a couple of chapters: exquisite!
September 5, 2021
I sincerely hope that I will not forget the this story. As the author indicated it is based on the real life of Rev Stephen Mnyakama. It breaks my heart how the cruelty and shortsightedness of dogma and politics, whether church or party political, could break the spirit of beautiful people.
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August 6, 2025vanwege mijn reis naar Zuid Afrika wil ik meer begrijpen van dit land. Ik probeer zo veel mogelijk zuid Afrikaanse schrijvers te lezen. Dit boek is er een van en ik ben erg geraakt door dit boek. Het is hartverscheurend hoe de blanke katholieke kerk met de oorspronkelijke bewoners is omgegaan.
January 31, 2020
Marguerite Poland never fails to delight me. Such a moving story of a clergyman who is left disappointed by the very people he thinks will be there to support him. The conflict between the Western church and African traditions is so sensitively handled
March 13, 2020
Beautifully written and deeply moving. A profound yet disturbing account of this country’s fraught colonial past.
June 7, 2020
Exceptional!
July 29, 2020
I highly recommend this. Really well written and a fascinating story.
It's the first book by Marguerite Poland that I've read and looking forward to reading her other books.
It's the first book by Marguerite Poland that I've read and looking forward to reading her other books.
November 15, 2021
An outstanding work
January 22, 2022
Nothing wrong with the book, it's not it, it's me.
September 8, 2022
A visceral account of colonial patriotism and how it affects both those who follow and those who fight.
A beautiful and evocative read.
Simply stunning.
Heartbreaking.
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