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Hum If You Don't Know the Words edition by Bianca Marais Literature Fiction eBooks

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Perfect for readers of The Secret Life of Bees and The Help, a perceptive and searing look at Apartheid-era South Africa, told through one unique family brought together by tragedy.

Life under Apartheid has created a secure future for Robin Conrad, a ten-year-old white girl living with her parents in 1970s Johannesburg. In the same nation but worlds apart, Beauty Mbali, a Xhosa woman in a rural village in the Bantu homeland of the Transkei, struggles to raise her children alone after her husband's death. Both lives have been built upon the division of race, and their meeting should never have occurred...until the Soweto Uprising, in which a protest by black students ignites racial conflict, alters the fault lines on which their society is built, and shatters their worlds when Robin’s parents are left dead and Beauty’s daughter goes missing.

After Robin is sent to live with her loving but irresponsible aunt, Beauty is hired to care for Robin while continuing the search for her daughter. In Beauty, Robin finds the security and family that she craves, and the two forge an inextricable bond through their deep personal losses. But Robin knows that if Beauty finds her daughter, Robin could lose her new caretaker forever, so she makes a desperate decision with devastating consequences. Her quest to make amends and find redemption is a journey of self-discovery in which she learns the harsh truths of the society that once promised her protection.

Told through Beauty and Robin's alternating perspectives, the interwoven narratives create a rich and complex tapestry of the emotions and tensions at the heart of Apartheid-era South Africa. Hum If You Don’t Know the Words is a beautifully rendered look at loss, racism, and the creation of family.

Hum If You Don't Know the Words edition by Bianca Marais Literature Fiction eBooks

Every now and again, a book comes along and crawls under your skin, burrows into your heart and hibernates with you for weeks. This was one of those books for me. This stunning debut novel by South African-born author Bianca Marais is set in South Africa, during the devastating Apartheid regime. Expertly narrated through the perspectives of two characters from different worlds, the story unfolds with lightning pace and is brought to life with heart-wrenching emotion. Marais perfectly captures a child’s naïve experience of the effects of Apartheid and juxtaposes this against the wounded yet resilient perspective of an adult affected by the atrocities of the time. As they work on picking up the pieces of their broken lives, Robin and Beauty forge an unusual and touching bond, and as their characters evolve, so does our understanding of the events unfolding against the backdrop of a horrific time in South Africa’s history. Sadness and tension are expertly offset by humor, which is interwoven throughout this complex tapestry, making it all the more readable and relatable. Unforgettable characters and eloquent prose manage to bring to life South Africa’s rich landscape and resilient and brave people. If you read one book this year, it has to be Hum If You Don’t Know the Words.


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Hum If You Don't Know the Words edition by Bianca Marais Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews

Couldn't put it down! I read this in one day! The story (which is told from the perspective of different characters) really communicates the impact of extreme racism on every aspect of life in apartheid South Africa.
I could not put the book down. It is so easy to attach yourself to the characters as they are so vividly described. The author brings light to a horrible injustice and the people who suffered. The incredibly unlikely bond that forms and how it gives way to understanding and compassion for those who aren’t exactly like us but are just like us.
This book told the part of SA history that I failed to understand as I was to young at the time. Wonderful, Wonderful read - highly recommended. I so wish this side of the history of our country was not true but this book manage to tell the story with lots of empathy.
I met this author at a book event in Vermont. Listening to her speak, I knew I wanted to read this book. My knowledge of Apartheid was limited to news reports. HUM brought it down to real people and the effect hate has on all culture. I was startled to discover how similar our history is to South Africa. Beyond the history the book is filled with beautiful language and wonderful characters! A must read!
I was born and raised in South Africa. I was a little more than an infant during the years this story relates to. If you want to understand South Africans, this story is spot on. It describes accurately the melting pot that is South Africa. It is painful to read as it deals with South Africa's apartheid past. Apartheid is a black eye on our history that should be learned from and this book invites the reader to reflect on that past.
As an ex-South African, this book took me on a heart breaking journey back to the terrible events which took place in Johannesburg in 1976. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the history of South Africa. This story is told from the perspective of a 10 year old white girl and her 50 year old Xhosa surrogate mother. A must read. I want this book on my bookshelf forever.
There is no need to give a synopsis of the storie as almost every review does that so far. But what I would like to add

Hum is an extraordinary journey, not only for the characters but also the reader. You will get pulled into emotions from page one. If you are one of the lucky ones to have seen, experienced and lived the changes South Africa's political landscape brought in the late 70's up to '94, Hum will confirm to you again the struggle was real and the end result worth it.

We can't make the injustices undone but we can reflect on it and do what we can for it never to be repeated.

Hum is not a history lesson trying to make either side look good. It's a genuine story and the telling of two characters' personal journeys. Finding themselves, finding each other and making the best they possibly can of their circumstances.

I give Hum if you don't know the words a full 5 star. The conclusion moves fast and as so many readers have mentioned already, you will have to hang on to your suspended disbelief. Again, Hum is a story, not a history lesson and therefor a happy ending suits it well.

Marais has definitely left enough strings untied for a very good sequel and I can't wait to have all my remaining guestions answered. It's been a week since I read the final line and still I keep thinking about it.

In the end, you can but only Hum as nobody will ever know all the words - only those familiar to you in your world.
Every now and again, a book comes along and crawls under your skin, burrows into your heart and hibernates with you for weeks. This was one of those books for me. This stunning debut novel by South African-born author Bianca Marais is set in South Africa, during the devastating Apartheid regime. Expertly narrated through the perspectives of two characters from different worlds, the story unfolds with lightning pace and is brought to life with heart-wrenching emotion. Marais perfectly captures a child’s naïve experience of the effects of Apartheid and juxtaposes this against the wounded yet resilient perspective of an adult affected by the atrocities of the time. As they work on picking up the pieces of their broken lives, Robin and Beauty forge an unusual and touching bond, and as their characters evolve, so does our understanding of the events unfolding against the backdrop of a horrific time in South Africa’s history. Sadness and tension are expertly offset by humor, which is interwoven throughout this complex tapestry, making it all the more readable and relatable. Unforgettable characters and eloquent prose manage to bring to life South Africa’s rich landscape and resilient and brave people. If you read one book this year, it has to be Hum If You Don’t Know the Words.