Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - 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

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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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micha_reads's review

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

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thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

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bookdragon217's review

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challenging informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

"...some stories start in the middle because no one wants to hear the beginning. They can be told quickly because no one wants to know the details. Sometimes all that matters is the conclusion."

Thanks to @bibliolifestyle for the gifted copy. Scatterlings by Rešoketšwe Manenzhe was a nice surprise. Manenzhe's writing style is poetic and magical. Her ability to weave a beautiful story filled with folklore and ancestral wisdom kept me captivated until the end. Manenzhe introduced characters with unique voices and perspectives. Although the novel was short, the story was full of deep themes of identity, nationalism, depression, suicidal ideations, trans-racial adoption, colonization and slavery, anti-Blackness, apartheid and miscegenation.

The history of Capetown, South Africa is a prominent part of the story and really made me think about the ways that Black African peoples were stripped of their identities and met with racism and anti-Blackness even when they return home to reconnect. Manenzhe shows the ways that trans-racial adoptions don't automatically bring acceptance to Black adoptees. She shows how these same adoptees are left to navigate their identity and microagressions with no support from their adoptive parents because they are ambivalent of their own privilege and participation in colonization.

I appreciated how she highlighted the depression and suicidal ideations that Alisa felt having to navigate white spaces and feeling disconnected from her African roots, despite having ancestral giftings. Manenzhe's story is a reminder of the power of storytelling in keeping cultures alive and staying connected to original homelands.

The storytelling reminded me of When We Were Birds which I loved. If you enjoy literary and historical fiction interspersed with ancestral wisdom and folklore then consider giving this one a try. I will definitely be looking out for more from this author because this was a stunning debut.

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