Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts

Monday 7 September 2020

Portrait of Stella by Susan Wüthrich

 This is I think the third book I read by Susan Wüthrich, mainly because it is in my prefered genre; historical fiction. But also because she tells a good story. This one was a complicated one spanning from 1943 to present day. Maybe at times trying too hard to keep the star crossed lovers apart by very unfortunate coincidence, but still a 5 star read. Here is the review:


What I like about Susan wüthrich’s books, is that it is historical fiction, but often not too distant history and ordinary people. Like here; when a woman in 1983 discovers during a passport application that her birth certificate is fake. Jemima is an ordinary young woman. Divorced she concentrates on her career. Then this chance discovery stops her in her tracks, suddenly work takes a back seat while she sets out to discover where she was born. With both parents dead and a period where her mother just disappeared makes it hard to find out what happened. Jemima does take some rash decisions and sets of to New Zealand on very vague information. It is a story of a woman discovering who she is and her awakening to the prejudice and injustice in South Africa. Well written in a series of flashbacks to 1945 and the following years, interwoven with Jemima story. A tragic tale of love, prejudice and courage. Recommended.