SA reads discussion
The Housemaid's Daughter
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Week 1
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Mod
How would you characterize:
Cathleen
Ada
Miriam
Edward
Phil & Rose
Is Ada caught between two worlds?
Something I read on GR claimed that Karoo Plainsong was 'the South African equivalent of The Help."
Any thoughts?
Mod
Zulu...
Thula thul', thula baba, thula sana,
Thul' ubab' uzofika, ekuseni. (repeat)
Kukhon' inkanyezi, eholel' ubaba,
Ekhanyisela indlel' eziy' ekhaya,
Sobe sikhona xa bonke beshoyo,
Bethi buyela ubuye le 'khaya,
Thula thula thula baba,
Thula thula thula sana,
Thula thula thula baba,
Thula thula thula sana.
English...
Keep quiet my child
Keep quiet my baby
Be quiet, daddy will be home by dawn
Theres a star that will lead him home
The star will brighten his way home
The hills and stones are still the same my love
My life has changed, yes my life has changed
The children grow but you dont know my love
The children grew but you dont see them grow
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBOJjDXi14I
The equivalent of The Help? ........ NO! NO! NO!Having read Karoo Plainsong and now starting The Housemaid's Daughter I was interested to see what had 'changed'.
No great story changes so far. The diary entries which appear in italics have been relocated. e.g in KP there is no prologue while in THD there is. Also in KP Rosemary/Rose was Siobhan. I would have been happier if the English Hannah, Joanne, Joan or any of its derivatives had been used instead of changing the name altogether. In KP from beginning to end Siobhan was spelled incorrectly which annoyed me as it is the name of one of my grand-daughters. But I will still affirm that KP was for me, so far, the book of 2014.
Mod
So Ada is a child growing up in Cradock. She has a sense of belonging to the family and the house, she was born there and named for Cathleen's sister. Cathleen & Phil include her in the family from when she is young. She puts the needs of her family first and does not resent them, she serves them with love. Ada's life is sheltered from violence and mostly she is safe from discrimination for her colour.she is also a dutiful daughter to Miriam.
Cathleen, an immigrant, wants a better life for herself and her family. Ada and Miriam are included in her family. She can't change the world outside Cradock House, but the world within is spared from racism and cruelty. She makes every effort to give Ada special opportunities including teaching Ada to read and play the piano.
Phil is much like his mother; gentle and caring. He is brave when he needs to leave for war.like his mother, he doesn't see color, teaches Ada to read and taking pleasure in her company before he leaves for war.
Rose is spoilt and shallow.
What I love thus far is how Ada's thoughts are mixed with Cathleen's when she reads Cathleen's diary
Mod
I wonder if Phil's outcome would be different if Ada had understood him?
I was surprised that Ada does not recognize that Phil jumped out of the window. I think the fact that his death was planned by him makes his parents feel worse. I think Ada's lack of understanding is part of her naïveté.
I felt that Ada was lost in a place where she saw two worlds and was unable to meld the two together. I love her naïveté. I love that she reads shop signs and that she doesn't understand numbers. I love that she reads Cathleen's diary. I wonder if Cathleen doesn't realise this and facilitates it.
The author makes you see things through eyes other than your own.
This book challenged me in so many ways and laid bare my own inadequacies and selfishness when dealing with people.
Welkom in die Karoo
The Karoo (Khoikhoi word, possibly "garo","desert") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa.
There is no exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo, and therefore also not its extent.
The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, partly its geology but, above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold. It formed an almost impenetrable barrier to the interior from Cape Town, and the early adventurers, explorers, hunters and travelers on the way to the Highveld unanimously denounced it as a frightening place of great heat, great frosts, great floods and great droughts.
Taken from Wikipedia, this excerpt lends itself to the idea that the Karoo is endless and legendary, a far greater entity than a mere bit of geography.
www.southafrica.net/articles
(Taken from Karoo tourism- for the pictures)
The Housemaid's daughter is set in the small Eastern Cape Town of Cradock, in the upper valley of the Great Fish River.
Looking at pictures, the Karoo reminds me a wee bit of The Burren in Ireland. I wonder if the location was a conscious link for our Irish-Immigrant Cathleen.