Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Scatterlings

Scatterlings is historical fiction set in South Africa and is the story of the van Zijl family - Abram, of a Dutch and English background, his wife Ailsa, daughter of a Jamaican slave who was orphaned then adopted by a wealthy Englishman, and their two daughters. The story covers a lot of ground - mental illness, racism, colonialism, belonging, family secrets, and more. The 1927 Immorality Act, which essentially made interracial relationships illegal, had a real impact on the family, but I expected it to be more of a focus than it was. Instead the story has a lot of similarities to Wide Sargasso Sea. I liked the way traditional mythology and beliefs were incorporated and enjoyed the poetic and lyrical storytelling.

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tigger89's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a beautiful book about oppression, belonging, and what it means to find your home. Both Abram and Alisa are written as deeply flawed characters, Abram in his colonizer's naivete and Alisa in her all-consuming depression, but ones that ultimately evoke empathy. The inclusion of their daughter Dido's perspective provided a much-needed relief from what would likely have been too heavy and melancholy, if the only narrators had been adults. Her curious exploration of African folklore and tradition, first through Gloria and then through Josephina, brought the novel's themes home in a way neither of her parents had quite managed to accomplish.

Something that didn't entirely work for me was the character of Johannes, not so much what he represented as the reveal of his personal secret. It didn't seem to fit with the rest of what the story was about. Perhaps I misunderstood what was being implied, but it seemed like he was jealous of Alisa? It just seemed odd and a bit out of place.

Be warned: the ending of the story is an ambiguous one. You're not going to get a clear answer to the question of whether they get away or not. I was happy with the ending, but calibrate your expectations accordingly. This story is heavy on themes and emotions, but not so much on plot resolution.

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rhi_'s review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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schnurln's review

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emotional reflective sad 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

3.75

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micha_reads's review against another edition

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Slow pace, characters not very strong, hard to connect with.

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bookreviewswithkb's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

scatterling

a person without a fixed home; a wanderer

this is a book about how we definite heritage, how we determine what home is, what it is to be untethered to a specific place, a specific identity that you can be boxed into and made sense out of. how that untethering leaves us wandering and the wandering leaves us feeling lost inside of ourselves, unable to just be our whole and beautiful selves

this is a book about South African history, about racism, about mental health, about love, the impact of unjust laws, the impact of ignorance, the power of storytelling, the power of wander

the writing in the journal entries nearly took me out with its poetic beauty

“i’ve cursed them with my skin. i’ve made them fugitives of my skin. i selfishly brought them into a world filled with men who sit in rooms and decide who can and can’t be one thing or another, who design the world as they want it.”

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bookswithgin's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book is very hard to describe. I would not consider it plot driven, but the characters do go on somewhat of a journey. It's definitely not a feel good story; however, I think it gives a glimpse into what some people's lives were like during that time in South Africa. I listened to the audiobook, and found the narrator very pleasant to listen to as well.

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