Aug
6 December 2013. Johannesburg.
Gin has returned home from New York to throw a party for her mother’s eightieth
birthday; a few blocks away, at the Residence, Nelson Mandela’s family prepares
to announce Tata Mandela’s death…
So begins Johannesburg,
Fiona Melrose’s searing second novel. Responsive to Virginia Woolf’s Mrs
Dalloway, the story follows a polyphonic course across a single day,
culminating in a party and traces the fractures and connections of the city.
An irascible mother, a daughter trying to negotiate her birthplace and the
people from her past, a homeless hunchback who takes his fight for justice to
the doors of a mining company, a mining magnate, a man still haunted by his
first love, the domestic workers who serve this cast and populate the
neighborhood, a troubled novelist called Virginia – these are the characters
who give voice to the city on a day hot with nerves and tension and history.
Johannesburg
is a profound hymn to an extraordinary city, and a devastating personal and
political manifesto on love.
The Facts:
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Publication
Date: |
August 3rd,
2017 |
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Series:
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–
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Genre:
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Fiction
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Pages:
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272
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Formats:
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eBook,
Paperback, Hardcover |
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Available
at: |
My Review:
I read Fiona Melrose’s first book ‘Midwinter’. I loved that book, so when I
received a review request for Fiona’s new book ‘Johannesburg’ I knew I wanted
to read this book. And don’t you just love the cover of Fiona Melrose’s book?!
I think they are magnificent.
takes place at December 6th 2013 and is centered around the lives of
several different characters. Why December 6th? On that day Nelson
Mandela’s family prepares to announce Tata Mandela’s death. And in Johannesburg
we read about the moments in a view persons lives.
finished reading this book over a week ago and somehow I just wasn’t able to
write this review earlier. I always try to write my reviews as soon as I finish
a book, but with this one I just couldn’t. Since I loved ‘Midwinter’ I really
hoped to love ‘Johannesburg’ as much, but I didn’t. Not because the writing was
bad or something. No Fiona Melrose’s writing was just as good in this book, as
in her first. But I just couldn’t connect to all the different characters.
we read about the life of several characters. And just like I always do, I had
a lot of trouble separating all the different characters, especially in the
beginning. I re-started reading this book two times, but still I found it hard
to keep everyone apart. And in the end I just couldn’t connect to all the
characters as much as I would have liked.
was definitely a nice read, but not as great as I would have liked.
My Rating:
About the Author:
FionaMelrose was born in Johannesburg but has spent the majority of her adult life
in the UK, first in London and then in East Anglia. She moved to Suffolk to
concentrate on her writing and it is there that Midwinter was conceived.
Previously Fiona has worked in academia, NGO’s, public affairs and as an
emerging markets analyst. She continues to keep a foot in both continents and
is currently spending the majority of her time back in South Africa where she
is completing her second novel.
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Maureen is a mom, wife, nurse, and Ravenclaw living in the Netherlands. She spends her days juggling mom-life, reading, blogging, planning date nights with her husband and working as a nurse. Maureen also is a big Anglophile, loves cooking, Gilmore Girls, Bridgerton and Harry Potter.. Always! Facebook | Instagram
