What do you think?
Rate this book
The End
“Do you remember the life we dreamed of? The things we did, hoping we’d achieve that life? The blood we’ve spilled? The things we have survived? The bodies buried under our Muldersdrift house – everything Qhawe, everything we have ever done and what we did it for, throwing your child in the fire would have given us that. A peaceful and safe life. ”What is he talking about? “We were roaming around, and I was fine with that, but you decided to bring them into our lives – the ancestors and all that. We were fine not honouring them Qhawe because what have they ever done for us? Why did we have to slaughter goats and burn incense for them? Our mother chose Sbopho over us. What reason did you have to honour her?”
“Bafo?”
“What reason, Qhawe? Now they keep taking and taking from us. Our children, Qhawe. And they won’t stop because the person they really want is Hlomu.
“Bafo?”
“What reason, Qhawe? Now they keep taking and taking from us. Our children, Qhawe. And they won’t stop because the person they really want is Hlomu.
Kindle Edition
Published August 24, 2022
170 people are currently reading
1898 people want to read
About the author
Dudu Busani-Dube
13 books1,948 followersDudu Busani-Dube is the author of the popular Hlomu series of self-published novels, being Hlomu the Wife, Zandile the Resolute, and Naledi his Love, which has sold tens of thousands of copies.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
September 12, 2022
DNF’d at 20%… then talked myself into picking it up again only to give up fifty pages later. It’s not for me.
I struggled with this decision because I loved this series. But it lost the magic for me, really two books back. The execution of the plot and literary choices were disappointing.
I struggled with this decision because I loved this series. But it lost the magic for me, really two books back. The execution of the plot and literary choices were disappointing.
September 12, 2022
I was scared of reading this book because of how the previous one; 'Mess', left me. I was a mess. I am glad that the end to the suffering finally came. It has been a long journey from where it all started. The first book, 'Hlomu The Wife' is what made me seek more of South African Literature because it was really nice to have to relate so much to a character and her environment. So much has changed, Hlomu aswell.
I loved how this book concluded, it reminded me that my name, 'Nqobile' holds a significant meaning. Victorious; the end to a war, and whatever challenges that lie ahead shall be defeated. There are so many characters that one gets an insight of what is happening in their minds. I loved guessing how long it would take me to figure out which Zulu I was reading about. Dudu wrote about these men as if she truly understood them, like she was them.
I hope we get more books from Dudu Busani. A different story maybe, because I think this one is best concluded like this.
I loved how this book concluded, it reminded me that my name, 'Nqobile' holds a significant meaning. Victorious; the end to a war, and whatever challenges that lie ahead shall be defeated. There are so many characters that one gets an insight of what is happening in their minds. I loved guessing how long it would take me to figure out which Zulu I was reading about. Dudu wrote about these men as if she truly understood them, like she was them.
I hope we get more books from Dudu Busani. A different story maybe, because I think this one is best concluded like this.
August 29, 2022
I was dragging to not finish this book as it’s sad that there will never be another book about them. I will miss Naledi and Qhawe the most but Dudu you have outdone yourself. I’m very happy with how this book was written, with no spelling errors and it made it more fun to experience it.
August 27, 2022
Definitely loved it. This was the best way to end the Series
September 28, 2022
As always Dudu Busani has a solid storyline.
I didn't like how the book was structured. At some point, it felt like reading short stories.
The End did not feel like The End.
There are still a lot of unanswered questions.
I didn't like how the book was structured. At some point, it felt like reading short stories.
The End did not feel like The End.
There are still a lot of unanswered questions.
September 10, 2022
This book is literally the best work from the series. I really appreciate the different character perspectives. It helps to understand them so much more. I am in awe of how well Dudu can write from both the female and male perspective and still give them their own voice. Dudu also tied a lot of loose ends and the important one being of the Zulu Family curse.
If you last read her books a long time ago then it would be best that you start the series from the start and go through all the books and end with this one because LITERALLY every event she has written about leads to what happens in the book. The many names can be confusing so try to read the series in one go.
I really appreciate just how much Hlomu has grown and the maturity she has gained.
The book touches a lot on Hlomu herself, the other wives, the KIDS, husbands, the family structure, their generational curse and the families unending quest to just find PEACE from it all.
Yes,,, Mqoqi’s death changed everything and although he is no longer alive, he is very much present in just how much reference is made to him. Alive he may have just been one of those who blended in with the rest but in death his absence highlights the role he played in the family.
My only pick with the book is: What was on the memory sticks that Mqoqi left for Hlomu? My highlight from the book was when Mqhele apologises to Hlomu for changing her after realising that he has put her through the most. Ohhh and one more thing,,, I am not satisfied with how Hlomu felt when the book ends. Throughout the book she explains how exhausted, frustrated and depleted she feels despite all the love she has from the family and the book ended without her having any real epiphany or emotional closure. Maybe it was just a midlife crisis for her.
But. All. In. All. 5 stars. Well done DUDU💜
If you last read her books a long time ago then it would be best that you start the series from the start and go through all the books and end with this one because LITERALLY every event she has written about leads to what happens in the book. The many names can be confusing so try to read the series in one go.
I really appreciate just how much Hlomu has grown and the maturity she has gained.
The book touches a lot on Hlomu herself, the other wives, the KIDS, husbands, the family structure, their generational curse and the families unending quest to just find PEACE from it all.
Yes,,, Mqoqi’s death changed everything and although he is no longer alive, he is very much present in just how much reference is made to him. Alive he may have just been one of those who blended in with the rest but in death his absence highlights the role he played in the family.
My only pick with the book is: What was on the memory sticks that Mqoqi left for Hlomu? My highlight from the book was when Mqhele apologises to Hlomu for changing her after realising that he has put her through the most. Ohhh and one more thing,,, I am not satisfied with how Hlomu felt when the book ends. Throughout the book she explains how exhausted, frustrated and depleted she feels despite all the love she has from the family and the book ended without her having any real epiphany or emotional closure. Maybe it was just a midlife crisis for her.
But. All. In. All. 5 stars. Well done DUDU💜
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2023
I am glad I read the last book in the series. What a beautiful exploration of ancestry, witchcraft, family, love, grief, vulnerability and mental illness. I think the only way for Dudu to end the story was to give us that open ending. I would love a short story on Mpande and Qhayi.
September 6, 2022
I'm still trying to process but wow what a great end. I'll rewrite my review once I've processed
September 13, 2023
Wow!
What a beautiful ending to this story that has captured my heart for years! I loved how we got to see the children and understand them better. It's so well written!
What a beautiful ending to this story that has captured my heart for years! I loved how we got to see the children and understand them better. It's so well written!
December 31, 2022
What is the book about:
1.This is the 6th book in the Hlomu Series. The book is narrated by Hlomu and the Zulu brothers. We get to hear the voices of the Zulu brothers and some of their children (e.g., Langa and Sisekelo). When this book starts the reader is probably still dealing with the shock of Mqoqi’s passing (which occurred in book 5) and in the first few chapters and probably throughout the book the reader will see our main characters mourning the death of Mqoqi.
2.Mqoqi’s death not only hurt the brothers, but somehow made them less vigilant and more vulnerable to their enemies. While they are still dealing with the pain and the guilt that came with it, their enemies continue to strike.
3. We get to see the significance of Hlomu in the family once again. The interesting thing about this book is that we discover more about the significance of all the other wives. Naledi, the Tswana princess, becomes elevated to being more than the chubby girl that Qhawe fell in love with, after losing Oleta. We get reintroduced to Naledi Zulu and say goodbye to Naledi Montsho.
4. Mpande on the other hand is on a journey where he has to make a very difficult decision – to choose himself or choose what is perceived as the right thing. There are many cliffhangers around Mpande’s story, and they suggest a 7th book might just be coming soon 🤔.
5.Then there’s Sisekelo. This boy is very instrumental to what I think this book is all about. Yes, everyone is somehow entangled in this thing; Hlomu, baby Nyanda, young Langa, Naledi and, and, and… But this young boy who has a soul of a very old man and sees things that most people call creepy is very instrumental to helping the entire family deal with something
Personal reading experience:
1.I liked the Mpande, Qhayiya, Thando and Ntsika storyline.
2. Most of the story made me think a lot about book four.
3. Most of the love stories between the wives and the brothers were no longer as interesting in this book. Mpande’s new love story that's the one I enjoyed.
4.Rating – 4.25/5 ⭐
5. This series remains a fave. I still want more
1.This is the 6th book in the Hlomu Series. The book is narrated by Hlomu and the Zulu brothers. We get to hear the voices of the Zulu brothers and some of their children (e.g., Langa and Sisekelo). When this book starts the reader is probably still dealing with the shock of Mqoqi’s passing (which occurred in book 5) and in the first few chapters and probably throughout the book the reader will see our main characters mourning the death of Mqoqi.
2.Mqoqi’s death not only hurt the brothers, but somehow made them less vigilant and more vulnerable to their enemies. While they are still dealing with the pain and the guilt that came with it, their enemies continue to strike.
3. We get to see the significance of Hlomu in the family once again. The interesting thing about this book is that we discover more about the significance of all the other wives. Naledi, the Tswana princess, becomes elevated to being more than the chubby girl that Qhawe fell in love with, after losing Oleta. We get reintroduced to Naledi Zulu and say goodbye to Naledi Montsho.
4. Mpande on the other hand is on a journey where he has to make a very difficult decision – to choose himself or choose what is perceived as the right thing. There are many cliffhangers around Mpande’s story, and they suggest a 7th book might just be coming soon 🤔.
5.Then there’s Sisekelo. This boy is very instrumental to what I think this book is all about. Yes, everyone is somehow entangled in this thing; Hlomu, baby Nyanda, young Langa, Naledi and, and, and… But this young boy who has a soul of a very old man and sees things that most people call creepy is very instrumental to helping the entire family deal with something
Personal reading experience:
1.I liked the Mpande, Qhayiya, Thando and Ntsika storyline.
2. Most of the story made me think a lot about book four.
3. Most of the love stories between the wives and the brothers were no longer as interesting in this book. Mpande’s new love story that's the one I enjoyed.
4.Rating – 4.25/5 ⭐
5. This series remains a fave. I still want more
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 31, 2023
26 October 2023
devastatingly beautiful
30 October 2023
This, in my opinion, is not the end of the Hlomu series, but rather the end of iqunga, curses, being chased by enemies, and unsolved issues. The story of Mpande and Qhayiya's love story needs just one more thick book to tell us what happens when Thando learns that Mpande plans to lobola Qhayiya, how the family responds to Mpande's desire to raise Zothile as his own, specifically Hlomu and Mqhele, and what happens when Thando declines the million rand the wives offer her to leave the kids behind and go live her life, never to return. Will the secret reveal itself and reveal that Sambulo killed Masibisi and that Mpande is not the father of Thando's children?. .I wonder!
devastatingly beautiful
30 October 2023
This, in my opinion, is not the end of the Hlomu series, but rather the end of iqunga, curses, being chased by enemies, and unsolved issues. The story of Mpande and Qhayiya's love story needs just one more thick book to tell us what happens when Thando learns that Mpande plans to lobola Qhayiya, how the family responds to Mpande's desire to raise Zothile as his own, specifically Hlomu and Mqhele, and what happens when Thando declines the million rand the wives offer her to leave the kids behind and go live her life, never to return. Will the secret reveal itself and reveal that Sambulo killed Masibisi and that Mpande is not the father of Thando's children?. .I wonder!
September 12, 2022
Mind blowing
Sis Dudu really did a number on us here and this book really makes you understand how deep Iqunga was . She makes you live within the . Love her for this
Sis Dudu really did a number on us here and this book really makes you understand how deep Iqunga was . She makes you live within the . Love her for this
March 5, 2024
I am low key disappointed, instead of the book being a conclusion to the story a lot more was left out.
1. I didn't like this being more of mpande, qhayi and thando story she could have written another book for them instead of having the end be more of a mpande's story.
2. I really would have loved to hear more from nkosana, the last chapter could have been about him and the brothers finding peace(I'm not disappointed in the cliff hanger p.s). Still not sure if having the reader guess which Zulu was speaking was a good idea, I'm torn on that?
3. We explored hlomu's feelings fair enough, I wish a lot more attention was given to Xolie's feelings and Naledi's. Naledi after the coma and Xolie after sisekelo's departure.
4. I did love that we got to see who the children grew to become...I do however wish we saw a conversation between the boys and Hlomu though since she was questioning herself a lot.
5. At first with the whole Bungane's story I wasn't impressed but the story progressed really well and I enjoyed the glimpse of romance we saw from the first books (I needed more of that tbh) and I enjoyed the moments of humor, with Langa going to the grandmother and msebe pretending to be Langa, Zandile being drunk and a lot more other comedic pockets.
6. I really loved how Mqoqi was kept alive in this book, I however wanted to hear each brother on how they felt about his death but I loved how his memory is still there. I wonder why nqoba was silent in this book and a chapter on Ntsika and him coming back being a protector to the younger ones would have been nice.
I loved the book but I wasn't satisfied as they are still so many things that are missing, it was however a good read, a good disappointing read. (I wonder what happened to langa and Andy).
1. I didn't like this being more of mpande, qhayi and thando story she could have written another book for them instead of having the end be more of a mpande's story.
2. I really would have loved to hear more from nkosana, the last chapter could have been about him and the brothers finding peace(I'm not disappointed in the cliff hanger p.s). Still not sure if having the reader guess which Zulu was speaking was a good idea, I'm torn on that?
3. We explored hlomu's feelings fair enough, I wish a lot more attention was given to Xolie's feelings and Naledi's. Naledi after the coma and Xolie after sisekelo's departure.
4. I did love that we got to see who the children grew to become...I do however wish we saw a conversation between the boys and Hlomu though since she was questioning herself a lot.
5. At first with the whole Bungane's story I wasn't impressed but the story progressed really well and I enjoyed the glimpse of romance we saw from the first books (I needed more of that tbh) and I enjoyed the moments of humor, with Langa going to the grandmother and msebe pretending to be Langa, Zandile being drunk and a lot more other comedic pockets.
6. I really loved how Mqoqi was kept alive in this book, I however wanted to hear each brother on how they felt about his death but I loved how his memory is still there. I wonder why nqoba was silent in this book and a chapter on Ntsika and him coming back being a protector to the younger ones would have been nice.
I loved the book but I wasn't satisfied as they are still so many things that are missing, it was however a good read, a good disappointing read. (I wonder what happened to langa and Andy).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2022
I wasn't expecting the story line to go that way because of how The Mess ended that's why I took my time reading each line each word ,each chapter because it is THE END, very chapter my heart skipped a beat, will it be in this chapter that I cry for MaHlomu Zulu ,but instead I was shocked ,laughed because the apples didnt fall far from the trees.
A family tree needs to be included to remind us whose sons the boys who are men now are. (Even if they all their fathers sons)
A family tree needs to be included to remind us whose sons the boys who are men now are. (Even if they all their fathers sons)
October 12, 2023
The book as anticipated a lovely read, loved how she manages to remind us of what has happened in previous books without making it boring so that we are able to proceed with the here and now. The End unlike the series does not lead to the death however the end of the curse whilst living with the haunting of ghosts. This book brings life to the quote that be careful that history does not repeat itself and these Zulu women ensure that generations to come do not have to endure as much as they did. I love how Womandla is portrayed and I am starting my "Fuck Off" account LOL.
The ending is a bit poor for me though however i also understand that she has left room to branch off into other stories or into the other lives for the brothers without having Hlomu as the pillar of the book.
I wonder what will happen to Qhayiya, will she ever find out what happened to her mother and what did actually happen? What will Thando do when she finds out she no longer has leverage? Will Xolie recover from her mental state?
The ending is a bit poor for me though however i also understand that she has left room to branch off into other stories or into the other lives for the brothers without having Hlomu as the pillar of the book.
I wonder what will happen to Qhayiya, will she ever find out what happened to her mother and what did actually happen? What will Thando do when she finds out she no longer has leverage? Will Xolie recover from her mental state?
October 7, 2022
In all honesty, out of all the 6 books, this is my second favourite after Naledi His Love. Mqoqi's death really messed me up but The End had a way of giving me the closure that I didn't know I really need. In this book we get to find out how everyone actually loved and cared about Mqoqi. We are allowed into that real brotherhood relationship between Mpande and Mqoqi which was so beautiful and authentic. Then we get deep as Sisekelo tries to correct the past imbalances caused by his great grandfather. I love everything about Dudu's writing. From the little humour found in the book like that part where Lwandle was like pissed about Ntsika talking English while they were at war or how Hlomu was amused by the fact that the twins tried to trick Mqhele by switching places😂. I love it. It honestly deserves 10 stars.
August 29, 2022
The book is more than i expected it a lot of questions answered from the previous 5. I love the new Naledi and more about Pande and the kids too. A lot makes sense to me i believe hlomu number 7 is going to be next im looking forward to know Qhayi, Chloe and the journey of Sikelelo. I understand why hlomu the end but this just the start of something beautiful. It keep me on the edge tears , laughter and suspence yoh the book its amazing work .... Keep up the good work sis Dudu but please dont stop no end but continue Iam not a reader but with Hlomu books Iam🙏🙏❤❤❤
February 16, 2023
It was a good book, I feel the end could’ve been better, and it should’ve ended with Hlomu being the speaker as it all started with her anyways. I enjoy the Sisekelo storyline a lot and I’d love to see more of the relationship between him and Langa. I was also enjoying the new Naledi we got. Overally it was good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2023
I was looking forward to saying goodbye to the Zulu family, tie up the loose ends. However, I have to say I was kinda disappointed a little. The time jumps where a character reflects on a past event/conversation yet in the same breath without a beat be back in the present gave me whiplash. The ending was meh but I liked it.
April 10, 2023
This book me gasping at every chapter..I could not put it down. This was definitely the end of many things..I also love what the author did with the Naledi character..the Zulu ancestors are brutal my dhiye..
June 5, 2024
I’ve had this book for close to a year, I battle reading it, I can never go beyond 20 pages, I keep reading other books hoping they will revive my love for reading then I can complete this one, I’m still stuck!
August 29, 2022
It was ok. Everyone had a voice which was confusing. It lacked a proper storyline but I did enjoy reading more about Mpade & Qhawe. Naledi is still our Naledi sweet and firm
Currently reading
September 19, 2022Mahlomu and Mqhele will rise
Read
October 11, 2022LOVED IT! I love Dudu's work so I may be biased.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 8, 2022
I can't open the book to read it
Want to read
December 30, 2022This can't be the last book noo!!!!!!🥺 Dudu you've outdone yourself mtombo
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2023
Wow what an amazing ending suits the title
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2023
Anything by Dudu Busani -Dube I will read and I will enjoy ,I trier to take my time with this book as much as I could,but I just couldn't...as always you ending wanting more.
December 22, 2023
I thought this one would leave as broken I was with mess. The suffering is gone but I would have loved another edition of Ntsika this time. He has always been a silent brother among them all.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews