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Maru
Maru | Bessie Head
15 posts | 6 read | 21 to read
Read worldwide for her wisdom, authenticity, and skillful prose, South Africanborn Bessie Head (19371986) offers a moving and magical tale of an orphaned girl, Margaret Cadmore, who goes to teach in a remote village in Botswana where her own people are kept as slaves. Her presence polarizes a community that does not see her people as human, and condemns her to the lonely life of an outcast. In the love story and intrigue that follows, Head brilliantly combines a portrait of loneliness with a rich affirmation of the mystery and spirituality of life. The core of this otherworldly, rhapsodic work is a plot about racial injustice and prejudice with a lesson in how traditional intolerance may render whole sections of a society untouchable.
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review
Tamra
Maru | Bessie Head
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Pickpick

I thought this 128 pg novella was going to be a quick read. WRONG It took days as there is a lot to unpack in the story and the writing style is not one to blow thru. The themes include racism, tribalism, freedom, patriarchy, identity, isolation, love, friendship, ........ I was dismayed at the tragic short life of the author and I‘ll be rereading this and exploring her other work. Yowza, amazing book.

rockpools I'm so glad you loved it! I haven't read anything else by her yet, but I will. A Question of Power sounds really tough, but @abookbumble assures me it was worth it, and @andrew61 recommended 7y
Tamra @RachelO I plan to! 7y
CouronneDhiver Ooo! Stacked. Sounds like my kind of book. 7y
Tamra @CouronneDhiver I hope you like it too! I‘ll be thinking about it for awhile. 7y
CouronneDhiver I have a major soft spot for all things South African. I‘ll let you know. @Tamra 7y
73 likes5 stack adds5 comments
blurb
Tamra
Maru | Bessie Head
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Yes, I did indeed learn a new vocabulary word today. 🤓

readordierachel That's a new one! 7y
Tamra @ReadOrDieRachel yes, and my brain said, “whoa, what is this?” The context was he left the house “forgetting to titivate himself.” 🤷🏾‍♀️ 7y
LeahBergen I like it! I‘m partial to the synonym, “gussy up”. 😆 7y
See All 12 Comments
readordierachel @Tamra That would certainly have given me pause 😂😂 7y
Tamra @LeahBergen 💄👢👗 😂 There isn‘t a cowboy hat emoticon! 7y
stargazerblue49 That is a great word! 7y
ReadingsByTheC Never heard this word before, but I love it! 7y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Cool! New to me too! 7y
readinginthedark I feel as though it might sound like “titillate” if you say it too quickly, though—it‘s a risk! 😆 7y
Tamra @readinginthedark yesssssss! 😂 (edited) 7y
CoverToCoverGirl Thanks for expanding my vocabulary! 😎 7y
100 likes12 comments
blurb
rockpools
Maru | Bessie Head
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If I'd made a best of 2017 list, this would have been there.

Maru is the chief of a Botswanan village, who knows how to #playlikegod, controlling the lives of everyone around him, ensuring no-one gets their own way. Despite the title, it's not his story. This is the story of two strong women - Margaret, a young Masarwa who comes to the village to teach, & Dikelede, Maru's sister, who befriends her.

And it's SO good!

#NuYear @Cinfhen @TrishB

Cinfhen Out of the box, awesome choice! Sounds intriguing💟 7y
TrishB Wow 👍🏻 amazing pick. So many books.... 7y
Tamra Definitely going to pick up! 7y
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rockpools @Tamra It's obviously a Botswana kind of a day! Not clear from my ramblings above, but it's not recent - I think it's a 1960s publication- but her writing was just 👌. 7y
rockpools @Cinfhen @trishb Thank you! 🤗 7y
Tamra @RachelO that‘s all that matters! 7y
Tamra Oh my, this was GREAT! I didn‘t know anything about Bessie‘s life before I read this - how tragic! Imagine what she could have done on to write and no wonder she explores the themes she does in this novella! Have you read anything else by her? I intend to. 7y
rockpools 👍Hopping onto your thread! 7y
59 likes4 stack adds8 comments
review
Currey
Maru | Bessie Head
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Pickpick

@RachelO @Kamisha After reading Rachel O and Kamisha's reviews I decided I needed to read this novella before leaving Botswana. It is a very lyrical book that approaches race relations through the story of 2 men and 2 women. We are treated to their inner thoughts, their outer actions, their human manipulations, their deep loves, their flares of hate and yet little actually happens. And yet the chains are broken. #readingaroundtheworld

rockpools Great review, and so glad it was a 👍for you. I'll definitely read more of her work. 7y
9 likes2 comments
review
Kamisha
Maru | Bessie Head
Pickpick

Just finished this for the Botswana #readaroundtheworld and I'm not entirely sure what to say about it! It was a powerful novella about race, friendship, jealousy, class, so many different important themes. And the writing style was very unique, a bit hard to follow sometimes because the characters thought processes all sort of flow into each other, but interesting.

JenP Sounds really good! 7y
6 likes1 comment
review
rockpools
Maru | Bessie Head
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Pickpick

Such a strange book. I loved it.

❤️🌼💚🐐❤️

Her writing is something else. Beautiful ideas thrown with force & aimed precisely. The story of 2 men and 2 women is subtle - everything and nothing happens. There's a wit and humour running through it (WindscreenWiper 🐐!) And power relations of gender and race - the power of standing up & saying, no this is wrong. And the complexity of strong independent women, ultimately controlled by men.

rockpools Another one I wouldn't have read without #readaroundtheworld #botswana @JenP 7y
batsy Great review! Sounds like a book I need to read 👍 7y
HannaPolkadots I loved some of the quotes you posted so this is definitely going on my wish list 👍😁 7y
rockpools @batsy I quite unexpectedly loved it. Think I'd be a bit nervous of some of her other stuff, but totally recommend this as an introduction to her work😊 7y
rockpools @HannaPolkadots Yay! You could pull a quote from every page - she has such an interesting way of looking at the world. 7y
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quote
rockpools
Maru | Bessie Head
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... Over the years she had put a crease in her forehead to help her pretend anxiety for all the women who fell in love with her son.

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rockpools
Maru | Bessie Head
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blurb
rockpools
Maru | Bessie Head
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I couldn't leave a photo challenge like that, so decided to sort the situation straight away - by starting another book!

45 pages in, and we have two very #independentwomen, and a main character who may well turn out that way. And from page 1, Bessie Head is eminently quotable.

Margaret, an orphaned Masarwa girl, was brought up by white missionaries. She starts her first teaching job, to Pete (the principal)'s disgust.

@Cinfhen #augustgrrrl

shawnmooney This sounds great! I have never read a Bessie Head novel and must rectify that soon! 7y
andrew61 I've read 'where the rain clouds gathered' which was very good and meant to read more so thanks for reminding me how good she is. 7y
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rockpools @shawnmooney @batsy Yes, please do! I was honestly expecting it to be hard work, but it's 👍 7y
rockpools @andrew61 Your review pointed me in this direction - so thank you! (edited) 7y
abookbumble I'm rereading her A Question of Power right now, but I might go with this book next! 7y
rockpools @abookbumble That sounds like a tough read. How are you finding it? 7y
Cinfhen Look at all this grrrrl power you created from one post!!!well done 🙌🏻💕 7y
andrew61 @RachelO I'd forgotten that, glad you enjoyed 😀 7y
abookbumble @RachelO It's super-difficult but totally worth it. She does amazing things in what isn't a particularly long text, and it's been my favorite work of hers so far. Recommend it for sure!! 7y
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