Book Club Review…. God help the child!

I have decided to take my love for reading lovely books and spending time with beautiful people to the next level by opening a book club.  I was nervous that people wont want to join but I knew that there are awesome people who would not disappoint me. On the 13^th September 2015 we had our very first session and the book we read was “God help the Child” by Toni Morrinson. It was a very beautiful session and I enjoyed the intimacy that came with the small group of ladies that came through.

The plan is to meet once a month in different venues and at these sessions we choose a book to read for the next session. We have also proposed that we rotate people who will write reviews because you know mos, readers write. I will post all the reviews on the blog and hopefully you will also get the awesome books we will be reading.

Please see below the first review by Lungile Mdaki and some write-ups from the rest of the ladies. Enjoy!

The book is phenomenally written, absolutely amazeballs and the language in which it was narrated is very colloquial and draws you closer to the character and of course there's a grand lesson at the end (you must finish the book to know what I'm talking about). The sequence in words is flawless and any black child would relate to the story line. The feeling of being accepted is clearly prevalent and the writer takes you on a journey of love, loving and being loved. It also highlights the importance of how you treat a child, will affect who they become in the future.

"...They will blow it, she thought. Each will cling to a sad little story of hurt and sorrow - some long-ago trouble and pain life dumped on their pure and innocent selves. And each one will rewrite that story forever, knowing the plot, guessing the theme, inventing its meaning and dismissing its origin."

There are quite a few characters that I fell in love with. Booker is one of them. He is mysterious and intellectually astute. You would want to crack him open to find the jewel in him, but you need to spend a bit more time trying to understand him and maybe observe him to get to know him. 

"...I apologise for enslaving you in order to chain myself to the illusion of control and the cheap seduction of power. No slave owner could have done it better."  

The love story: Booker gravitated towards Bride not knowing that their past intertwined. They complimented each other in a strange way that they could comfortably, subconsciously hide and carefully pamper their past in their little nest, it made them closer, happier until they have to confront the very thing that brought them together... their childhood.

"...Her imagination is impeccable the way it cuts and scrapes the bone never touching the marrow where that dirty feeling is thrumming like a fiddle for fear its strings will break and screech the loss of its tune since for her permanent ignorance is so much better than the quick oh life." 

A must read.  

Some little write-ups from the ladies about their favorite characters:

“I would choose Booker as my favourite character, not because of who he is, but for what he does for Bride. He acts as a catalyst for her own growth and freedom in many ways. For instance, he is the first person that she feels completely free enough to express herself with. Her most private thoughts and musings are first revealed to him, and, although he is not her first sexual encounter, she is the one that she refers to the most. Even his touch, other than that of her mother's accidental one, seems more memorable to her than most. “ – Thabisile Adams

“My favourite character was Brooklyn. I like the fact that she was the ride or die friend and always there for Bride and had her back at all times. I think every girl needs such a friend in their corner to celebrate there's success and pick them up when they are down.” – Karabo Mailula

“My favorite character is definitely Bride. I love how she chose to use her blackness to her advantage. She could’ve easily remained as the Lula Ann that everyone despises and pities but she consciously chose to define who and what she wants to be, all white everything! (Read the book to understand). I think there’s a Bride in every black girl, and because black girls are so strong, we always rise above the lines of inequality that are set before us. “ – Lerato Musi