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.

Tambula by Susan Wüthrich

This is the second book I reviewed by Susan Wüthrich. I like the fact that this writer sets her stories of love and loss in unusual settings and periods. Be it post war Britain or 1970's Africa as in this case. Her heroes are ordinary men and women just trying to make ends meet. I gave this 5 stars.

This book is set in the early seventies which had me scratching my head as I recognised some of the places but not others. Tambula is a fictional country but a reviewer kindly pointed out it would be located in what is these days known as Eswatini and before 2018 as Swaziland. Also the Capital of Mozambique is these days known as Maputo. Maybe the writer could add some info about the locations used before the first part to set the scene. It doesn’t detract however from the touching story of a young couple in 1970’s Africa. What I liked was the fact that Liz and Dek are a very ordinary couple with a young son that are just struggling to make ends meet. This sets them apart from the other expats around them that are rich and their lives revolve around the club. The story of this couple and their unravelling marriage could have been set anywhere, but setting it in Africa adds another dimension and adds a few interesting subplots that test this couple to breaking point.

Well written and kept me interested to the last page.