Published by Penguin Group Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism
Format: ARC, eBook
‘On the third of September, not so long ago, something truly wondrous happened on the Beauford Farm and Estate. At the moment of her death, Imogen Zula Nyoni – Genie – was seen to fly away on a giant pair of silver wings …’
Genie, believed to have hatched from a golden egg, spends her childhood playing amongst sunflowers as her country is getting back on its feet after a civil war. That alone sounds like an interesting story. But this book is made up of many stories. There is a story of a man with wanderlust, of a man who shot down a plane, of a mother who dreamed of going to Nashville and becoming a singer, of a woman who wanted to raise her children top gave character.
“He understood that in the grander scheme of things he was but a speck…a tiny speck …and that was enough. There was freedom, beauty even, in that kind of knowledge.”
The book contains beautiful passages and quotes. It is almost lyrical. Pair that with some magical realism and this should be an absolute winner. But it had to win me over. I struggled a little with this book. I found parts to be slow and there were a lot of characters – hence the listing of them at the beginning of the book, describing who they are and those who are their relation. The book goes all over the place in terms of time and place, and at times, was frustrated with having to go back to the character list.
I found my stride with this book around the 50-60 percent mark. This was a hard one to rate. It was slow and at times a struggle, but also beautifully written with beautiful passages. The characters are all unique and have their individual stories to tell and we also see them interacting with other characters in the book. This is an incredibly unique book. I enjoyed the magical realism and was won over by the writing and imagery.
This is one that I am glad I stuck with and read as I have never read a book quite like this one before.
I received a copy of this book from Penguin Books and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.