Scan barcode
A review by misspalah
Maru by Bessie Head
4.0
When no one wanted to bury a dead body, they called the missionaries; not that the missionaries really liked to be involved with mankind, but that they had been known to go into queer places because of their occupation. They would do that but they did not often like you to walk into their yard. They preferred to talk to you outside the fence.
- Bessie Head, Maru
.
.
Honestly, i enjoyed When Rain Clouds Gather better than this book. It is probably due to my high expectation given that most people recommend this book as her best work among other books. I just couldn’t get past of how utterly selfish and jerk both of the male characters, Maru and Moleka. There’s No redeemable quality whatsoever in these 2 men. Hence, seeing that Margaret Cadmore ended up marrying Maru is something that i wished it wouldn’t happen. I enjoyed the dynamic between shared between Margaret Cadmore and Dilekedi, they are not best friend but they are not stranger either - but fate brought them together as they are pawns in the game played by Maru and Moleka. While the plot was not intriguing at least to me but the subject matter that Bessie Head brought it up in the book is somehow similar with caste. Just like in India, there are dalits/untouchable caste, in this book they have somewhat similar known as the Masarwa / the outcast tribe. They are not considered as human being and most of the time were referred to ‘it’. The insult that usually hurled at them is ‘Bushmen’ which has similar connotation with ‘the N word’. Hence, the story began with Margaret Cadmore which hailed from Masarwa Tribe but were adopted by a white missionary’s wife. She enjoyed the privilege but knew deep down that she was never one of them. Her adopted mother make sure to remind her of that once in a while. When Margaret becomes a teacher and sent to teach at Dilepe Village, her status as a Masarwa become a big issue. Again, Bessie Head explored Prejudice, Caste, Tribal distinction and Discrimination right off the bat with this novel. Due to these themes alone, i add 1 star as originally i feel this is 3 stars at best. I am still glad i read this.
- Bessie Head, Maru
.
.
Honestly, i enjoyed When Rain Clouds Gather better than this book. It is probably due to my high expectation given that most people recommend this book as her best work among other books. I just couldn’t get past of how utterly selfish and jerk both of the male characters, Maru and Moleka. There’s No redeemable quality whatsoever in these 2 men. Hence, seeing that Margaret Cadmore ended up marrying Maru is something that i wished it wouldn’t happen. I enjoyed the dynamic between shared between Margaret Cadmore and Dilekedi, they are not best friend but they are not stranger either - but fate brought them together as they are pawns in the game played by Maru and Moleka. While the plot was not intriguing at least to me but the subject matter that Bessie Head brought it up in the book is somehow similar with caste. Just like in India, there are dalits/untouchable caste, in this book they have somewhat similar known as the Masarwa / the outcast tribe. They are not considered as human being and most of the time were referred to ‘it’. The insult that usually hurled at them is ‘Bushmen’ which has similar connotation with ‘the N word’. Hence, the story began with Margaret Cadmore which hailed from Masarwa Tribe but were adopted by a white missionary’s wife. She enjoyed the privilege but knew deep down that she was never one of them. Her adopted mother make sure to remind her of that once in a while. When Margaret becomes a teacher and sent to teach at Dilepe Village, her status as a Masarwa become a big issue. Again, Bessie Head explored Prejudice, Caste, Tribal distinction and Discrimination right off the bat with this novel. Due to these themes alone, i add 1 star as originally i feel this is 3 stars at best. I am still glad i read this.