Cannonball Read #2

I really wanted to like this book. And I did, but it didn't really leave much of an impression on me. Sort of like a gentle, cool breeze of a book that is pleasant but ultimately forgettable. And I expect to get some disparaging comments, as this book seems to be something of a cult classic...

The novel is basically a "slice of life" sort of character study involving members of an Indian community in 1950s South Africa (during apartheid). It focuses on a traditional young Indian couple with 2 children (and a baby on the way) who run a grocery outpost in Delhof, which is basically the boonies, and a young woman who runs her own restaurant with a "colored" man, Jacob. The couple, Omar and Miriam, are married basically by chance - when Omar is smoking on the balcony of his apartment, he notices Miriam on the ledge above him, washing clothes. He becomes so intrigued by her that a few days later he presents an offer of marriage to her parents, and they accept. So Miriam is a stranger to this man who she is supposed to share her life with. And Omar falls into the old stereotype -- an abusive and emotionally cold mate who, when we get to see his thoughts, confesses to not understanding his wife, or women in general. I know that there were, and still are men who were probably much like this... but he fits the mold a little too neatly for his character to really ring true for me. The restaurant owner, Amina, is an independent woman, bucking Indian tradition by refusing to get married or wear traditional clothing, living on her own and running a bustling business. (Basically, Amina is pretty awesome.)

Most of Omar's family is cold to Miriam, and so she starts to count how many days can pass before someone smiles at her. Miriam is always saddled with all the cooking and housework. She has a medically insane sister-in-law that she must look after. And so she is quite miserable, although the smile count just sort of seemed like the author pandering for pity. One day she is able to go out on the town to do shopping -- her insane-sister-in-law needs fresh air, and her other sister-in-law (who fits another stereotype, "backstabbing bitch") accompanies her. They go to Amina's restaurant, and guess what? Amina smiles at Miriam. There begins a tenuous friendship that very gradually turns romantic.

Most of the female characters felt very "real" and interesting, with bright and distinct personalities. Only the "backstabbing bitch" character, Farah, felt a little wooden, but I suppose every novel needs a foil. But the male characters... they were all very distant (with the exception of Jacob, who runs the restaurant with Amina). They draw back from society, from their wives, from the narrative. Even the jet-setting Parisian (I think his name was Robert...) is so vanilla that he has no presence whatsoever.

So I guess if you're a woman, and want to read about some interesting fictional women who lived in South Africa during a tumultuous period of history, you might want to pick up this book. Despite the setting, the narrative is all but devoid of tragedy and misery, so it's a nice feel-good book to curl up with on a lazy afternoon.