A review by misspalah
The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Marriage was a disappointment. Colder than Hortensia had imagined, it was the sad end to her Sunday-school belief in the lore of Noah - that life was best lived in pairs. Instead, marriage had turned out to not be much after all. It was the tedium of little domestic details. It was negotiating the tiresome habits of another. Marriage also made Hortensia suspicious when she met new people. Where was the nastiness in this one? she would think to herself as she handed change to a trader or stood to be measured by a polite seamstress. She'd seen Peter cradle an injured bird so gently that the animal had managed to come to a state of calm. And, in the heat of one of his moods, she'd seen him smash a plate to the floor. Not just any plate, but the gold-leaf-painted Chinese porcelain plate that she'd spent months negotiating for and finally wangled out of a dealer in London. It had been her favourite, with four pheasants and four orchids arranged along the face, flecks of gold dancing between them like magic dust.

What happened? This was a common question she asked herself. And then Hortensia would work backwards through their time together, through the string of little and big arguments, offences taken, insults applied. Often the house settled into weeks of corrosive silence. The silence was easier than the booby-trapped mission of attempting conversation. But sometimes the silence wasn't a relief, it was a form of punishment.

• The woman next door by Yewande Omotoso

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This literary fiction novel revolves around two elderly women of different races, one white and one black, who live next to each other in the 1950s around the affluent neighbourhood. Both are well-educated and have lost their husbands. While one might expect their shared grief to quickly foster a friendship, their bond develops very slowly. What I found most enjoyable were their individual backstories, which initially seem unrelated to their relationship but ultimately explain their backgrounds and their past. I cheered for these two eccentric seniors. Despite their opposing personalities and backgrounds, each woman's history of regret and heartache endeared them to me, if not to each other. I was intrigued by Marion's grasp of her ingrained racist attitudes and her guilt in perpetuating apartheid (although most of the time, it can be highly unlikely this happened in real life).  Hortensia's struggles, on the other hands, were more personal involving her husband’s extramarital affairs which ended with some changes in his will for his ‘daughter’ This book isn't focused on the historical aspects of post-apartheid South Africa, as it only touches on them briefly. Instead, it examines human nature and the essence of racism, revealing the histories that shaped these women when they finally have a heartfelt conversation. I have to applaud the author for skilfully explores the complexities of long-term female friendship. I adored the novel, despite it becoming somewhat simplistic towards the end. For what its worth, it offered a light-hearted, entertaining, and warm exploration of aging and regrets.