allisonreadsabook's review
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
lorena_rose's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
bookish_by_elle's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
At the end of this, I might be crying because it's over and the writing was so eloquent and felt so raw and authentic and unbound by rules. Or I am probably crying because some of these stories are sad. Apartheid stories are probably supposed to be sad, at least for those who have been pushed to the periphery and sometimes over the edge. Yet, the author manages to capture her characters in the fullness of their lives — they love, they laugh, they fight, they are human. But I am mostly crying because the product that is this book is such a beautiful offering to the author's family and it caught me completely off guard:
How to thank my family? By writing a book that tries to mimic the explosive belly laughing, eye-rolling and heart-feasting I know because of you. People mistakenly think apartheid is our whole story. That overcoming it is our triumph. They don't realize how far our jokes, joy, resilience, side-eyes, phat asses, raw beauty, and humanity stretch — from time immemorial and way yonder, into the unbound eternal.
overlap's review
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
katemutsch's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Incredibly written look at life in Soweto through apartheid and ongoing colonialism. Rooted in a love for her home and the actual language of the local people (some Dutch, Afrikaans, and South African English), the author explicitly does not cater to the white gaze/European English. Have google ready, not only for quick translations but also for history lessons bc Makhene does not hold your hand and explain everything.
It’s absolutely brutal in its honesty, not hiding any of the ugliness of the time and place from the reader but it’s also not without humor and warmth in moments between the recurring characters.
This was absolutely my most challenging read this year but I’d say it’s also the most rewarding in terms of expanding my own knowledge of the world, and for that I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read it. This is is the type of book that reminds me why I love reading and I’m excited to see where the future takes this talented (af) author.
It’s absolutely brutal in its honesty, not hiding any of the ugliness of the time and place from the reader but it’s also not without humor and warmth in moments between the recurring characters.
This was absolutely my most challenging read this year but I’d say it’s also the most rewarding in terms of expanding my own knowledge of the world, and for that I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read it. This is is the type of book that reminds me why I love reading and I’m excited to see where the future takes this talented (af) author.
reviewsbylola's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
nathansnook's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
4.0
Bold and brave in the terrain of community, hardships and heartships. There's landscape in the language here, vast and inventive in how language is a ways of relaying history that is found knotted, right and loose, with the people of Soweto.
These short stories rely on each other, require understanding and spatial awareness of the worlds and otherworldliness found in the ways we find homes within each other. For the reader, patience is required, but once kinship is made between reader and text, Makhene offers her home to us with so much color and vibrancy that fills you with wonder.
Ultimately, this is Makhene's love letter to her hometown, Soweto. It's wrought with so much faith and honesty that every word is meant to be there. As she is meant to be so proud to be from Soweto.
A fresh voice not to be missed.
These short stories rely on each other, require understanding and spatial awareness of the worlds and otherworldliness found in the ways we find homes within each other. For the reader, patience is required, but once kinship is made between reader and text, Makhene offers her home to us with so much color and vibrancy that fills you with wonder.
Ultimately, this is Makhene's love letter to her hometown, Soweto. It's wrought with so much faith and honesty that every word is meant to be there. As she is meant to be so proud to be from Soweto.
A fresh voice not to be missed.
oddreads_nicolestins's review
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
What I liked about this book was that the stories were very intimate and the characters reappeared in different stories (sort of a "linked fates" situation). My favorite stories were:
-Indians Can't Fly
-7678B Chris Hani Road
-Jesus Owes Me Money
-The Caretaker
This book definitely made me want to read more #ownstories about the effects of Apartheid and how it affected South African communities as well as how it is still affecting them today.
Overall I feel like this collection of stories is an advanced character study of society during Apartheid in Soweto and South Africa. I describe it as "advanced" because having never read anything on this topic before, there was so much of the language and phraseology that I had a hard time understanding. This doesn't mean it couldn't be understood, of course, but as an entry to the topic and conversation around Apartheid I felt like this was inaccessible for me (this is very much a "me" problem). I need to keep up! 📚
Recommendations for the best reading experience:
- Listen to this book (as an audiobook)! I think that's what I missed out on the most, inflection and tone. If I had been able to hear many of the words/phrases spoken in the original language, I'd at least be able to infer what they were saying and the emotions behind it.
- Read other #ownstories about Apartheid and it's effects before this one. Now if you feel comfortable with the language or history this doesn't apply! But if you're like me and this would be your first foray into the topic/history, do a bit of prep/research beforehand.
-Indians Can't Fly
-7678B Chris Hani Road
-Jesus Owes Me Money
-The Caretaker
This book definitely made me want to read more #ownstories about the effects of Apartheid and how it affected South African communities as well as how it is still affecting them today.
Overall I feel like this collection of stories is an advanced character study of society during Apartheid in Soweto and South Africa. I describe it as "advanced" because having never read anything on this topic before, there was so much of the language and phraseology that I had a hard time understanding. This doesn't mean it couldn't be understood, of course, but as an entry to the topic and conversation around Apartheid I felt like this was inaccessible for me (this is very much a "me" problem). I need to keep up! 📚
Recommendations for the best reading experience:
- Listen to this book (as an audiobook)! I think that's what I missed out on the most, inflection and tone. If I had been able to hear many of the words/phrases spoken in the original language, I'd at least be able to infer what they were saying and the emotions behind it.
- Read other #ownstories about Apartheid and it's effects before this one. Now if you feel comfortable with the language or history this doesn't apply! But if you're like me and this would be your first foray into the topic/history, do a bit of prep/research beforehand.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Rape, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
marywahlmeierbracciano's review
challenging
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
In her literary debut, Magogodi oaMphela Makhene paints a picture of South African life—past and present—which was, and is, so much more than apartheid. This humanization allows for an explosion of culture and play, alongside grief and trauma. Many of these interconnected stories are about large-scale displacement and disruption, but not without the intimacy that flows from one moment to the next. I found Innards not only to be a powerful source of truth, but more importantly, an empowering reclamation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, Murder, Grief, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Death, Bullying, Racism, and Animal death
Moderate: Blood, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Fatphobia, Confinement, Colonisation, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Rape, Child death, War, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, and Gun violence
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