There are two types of readers for this book. Those who appreciate the style of writing and those who complain about the style of writing. I am the former.
Rešoketšwe Manenzhe’s writing is one which demonstrates research, curiosity, and experience blended with intelligence. It is not as ordinary or as easy as one would expect it to be and for the type of book Scatterlings is, I do not believe the writing should be easy because it would lose its historical authenticity. Rešoketšwe touches on South Africa’s history during a time when black and white were like water and oil, where the two groups were not allowed to be peers in any shape or form. One had to be the master and one the slave. We all know how that was categorised.
Scatterlings, is a historical fiction taking place in the beautiful winelands of Cape Town, South Africa in the 1920s. We follow the life of an interracial marriage between Abram van Zijl and Alisa Miller. The couple is blessed with two beautiful daughters Dodo and Emilia. In 1927, the South African government passed a law that challenged their marriage greatly, which was ACT NO.5 OF 1927. Prohibiting intercourse or relations between Europeans and Natives. It touches on the immorality act which leads to the demise of this once beautiful family. The government had already targeted this couple and would make sure that they lost their wine farm, estate and everything they worked for. Because this couple was married, we would assume that it would make their situation better, however it was not the case. Alisa had long given up on this marriage and had plans of her own. Abram tried to convince her to consider moving to any other place she desired, but she was not keen on the idea. Alisa was cold and angry towards Abram, she was lost in her own mind, suffered from identity issues and eventually died. Both her and their youngest daughter died, leaving Abram and their eldest daughter scatterlings of Africa.
The question we want to answer when we read this book is why Alisa was so depressed, why she wore melancholy like a warm blanket and why she and Emilia died. The answers are revealed in Alisa’s journal entries found by her helper Gloria who gave it to Dodo. Gloria played a very big role in the story; I feel she deserves mentioning. Gloria was a Northern Sotho woman, who was their maid and helper. She was very rooted in her African spirituality and became a medium of communication between the physical and spiritual world of the van Zijl family. Whether or not they believed in African spirituality, Gloria made sure that they practiced it so that their spirits would not wander but have somewhere to belong.
Alisa was born in Jamaica and later adopted by white parents. As she grew older, she began to search for her roots and for the longest time she did not know which place she would call home. She thought South Africa would be it, but it did not feel like it although she settled there. When the book ends, which I must add was a beautiful thing that happened since this book touched on spirituality. Alisa was finally home in West Africa.
Things that made me appreciate this book was how Rešoketšwe mastered the language, tone and behaviour of the elite white people of the past time. The way in which this book is written immediately puts you in that timeframe and it is not difficult to imagine these different characters. The other brilliant thing she managed to do was give voices to all her characters. One could almost distinguish a male character from a female one, a black South African from other nationals. One last element that made me not put this book down was the poetic language she uses to tell this story. This is one thing most readers complain about, but I found it very beautiful.
I would recommend this book and encourage readers to open themselves up to different styles of writing so that they could appreciate them more. This is one such book with a different style of writing executed beautifully. Scatterlings does deserve that award.
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Published: Jacana Media
Awards: Winner of the 2020 Dinaane Debut Fiction Award
Thank you to the Jacana Media team for the Bookamoso copy of Scatterlings. Book is available in all bookstores and directly on the Jacana Media website here.
