serendipitysbooks's review
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Woman Next Door is the story of two curmudgeonly, and often outright rude and nasty, elderly women, one Barbadian and one white, who are neighbours in a wealthy South African community. Both Hortensia and Marion have had successful careers and both are widows. Yet despite many similarities the pair despise each other. One day an unfortunate accident leads to one being bed bound and the other temporarily homeless. So the decision is made to share a house for a while. During this period the two learn more about each other, especially the hardships, disappointments and problems they’d kept hidden. Their lives haven’t turned out how they’d expected. They develop compassion and understanding, not only for each other, but also for themselves and others in their lives.
This novel is set in post-apartheid South Africa and it was interesting to see how race played out. The land Hortensia and Marion’s community is built on has been illegally acquired and now former Black residents are seeking recompense or at least some accommodations. While Marion does begin to reckon with some of her racism, I would have loved it if the race issue had been featured more prominently.
A solid read even though it ended up not being exactly what I expected.
This novel is set in post-apartheid South Africa and it was interesting to see how race played out. The land Hortensia and Marion’s community is built on has been illegally acquired and now former Black residents are seeking recompense or at least some accommodations. While Marion does begin to reckon with some of her racism, I would have loved it if the race issue had been featured more prominently.
A solid read even though it ended up not being exactly what I expected.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Infertility, and Racism
readingwithkt's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR tells the story of two neighbours whose rivalry has lasted decades: their dislike for one another immediate and enduring. I went into this expecting a very surface level, easy read about two retirees with an intense dislike for one another, but with an enemies-to-friends story ending (all of this is in the blurb).
I was surprised, then, by how quietly devastating THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR is. It starts with what on the surface seems like a petty rivalry. But as you learn the character’s shared and personal histories, you begin to understand the true root of their problems with one another.
Set in South Africa, Apartheid and unconscious bias play a role, but the narrative covers far more than that. It’s about womanhood, betrayal, jealousy, grief, and the pitting of career versus family focused women against one another, and the impossibility (for many) of being both.
It’s a hard book to talk about without spoiling it. Half of the beauty in this book was the quiet unravelling of the characters stories. It’s a slow paced, slow burn story which will leave you with a feeling of absolute devastation. At least, that’s how it was for me.
Since reading, I have become completely intrigued by the author; by where this story came from and what other stories they have to tell. Yewande Omotoso is an author whose publications I’ll be watching out for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, and Terminal illness
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