The Madonna of Excelsior by Zakes Mda
Book Title: The Madonna of Excelsior
Author: Zakes Mda
Genre: Fiction, South Africa, Apartheid
My Grade: B
# of Pages: 258
Summary: In 1971, nineteen citzens of Excelsior in South Africa's white-ruled Free State were charged with breaking apartheid's Immortality Act, which forbade sex between blacks and whites. Taking this case as raw material for his alchemic imagination, Zakes Mda tells the story of one irrepressible fallen madonna, Niki, and her family, at the heart of the scandal.
My Thoughts: Most times, books talking about South Africa either show the wealthy, fancy, stuck-up white side of South Africa, or the stereotypical native, out in the grassland black native. But The Madonna of Excelsior shows both sides, the inbetween.
It's no surprise the rich are white and the poor are black. But what about the ones they call "colored"? The ones who are both black and white? This book explores that.
Zakes Mda is an amazingly detailed writer, his words helping the reader see everything he speaks of in perfect clarity. The only thing that bothered me about his writing, or at least this book, was the description of a painting at the beginning of each chapter. But that's solely a personal opinion, because while it sometimes helped push the story along, most of the time I felt it pulled me from it.
At times I felt the story didn't really have a plot to it, it's more of a character driven book rather than plot driven, and even then the characters didn't do too much driving.
Still there was something that kept me reading and enthralled. Maybe it was Mda's beautiful words or his attention to detail. It could have been his characters and their journey to better themselves and the world around them. But whatever it was, something grabbed at me and kept me reading.
I warn you that this may be one of those cup of tea books: it's either your cup of tea or it isn't. Still give it a chance.
Next Book: Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi • review
Back to the Book List.
Author: Zakes Mda
Genre: Fiction, South Africa, Apartheid
My Grade: B
# of Pages: 258
Summary: In 1971, nineteen citzens of Excelsior in South Africa's white-ruled Free State were charged with breaking apartheid's Immortality Act, which forbade sex between blacks and whites. Taking this case as raw material for his alchemic imagination, Zakes Mda tells the story of one irrepressible fallen madonna, Niki, and her family, at the heart of the scandal.
My Thoughts: Most times, books talking about South Africa either show the wealthy, fancy, stuck-up white side of South Africa, or the stereotypical native, out in the grassland black native. But The Madonna of Excelsior shows both sides, the inbetween.
It's no surprise the rich are white and the poor are black. But what about the ones they call "colored"? The ones who are both black and white? This book explores that.
Zakes Mda is an amazingly detailed writer, his words helping the reader see everything he speaks of in perfect clarity. The only thing that bothered me about his writing, or at least this book, was the description of a painting at the beginning of each chapter. But that's solely a personal opinion, because while it sometimes helped push the story along, most of the time I felt it pulled me from it.
At times I felt the story didn't really have a plot to it, it's more of a character driven book rather than plot driven, and even then the characters didn't do too much driving.
Still there was something that kept me reading and enthralled. Maybe it was Mda's beautiful words or his attention to detail. It could have been his characters and their journey to better themselves and the world around them. But whatever it was, something grabbed at me and kept me reading.
I warn you that this may be one of those cup of tea books: it's either your cup of tea or it isn't. Still give it a chance.
Next Book: Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi • review
Back to the Book List.