Review by Booklist Review
Makhene's literary debut is a much-needed addition to contemporary fiction. Through a series of interconnected stories featuring a diverse cast of colorful characters, Makhene narrates South Africa's past, present, and future. South Africa is so much more than apartheid. By presenting stories set before and after that era, Makehene allows readers to more fully experience the country and walk along the road of forgiveness and reconciliation. The stories focus on the people most impacted by that unjust regime, offering intimate, humanizing portraits and allowing Makhene to boldly juxtapose culture with grief and trauma. To reflect on moments of extreme evil and injustice in world history, it's crucial to read stories told by those who know the harsh realities firsthand. Makhene's stories capture the heart and soul of the Soweto people through her rich use of the vernacular and celebration of their lives. Readers will feel deeply connected to these characters. They will laugh with them, cry with them, rage with them, sympathize with them, and want to join the fight with them. Innards not only unapologetically reveals the experiences of many South Africans, it also reclaims the truth for those who have been most disenfranchised.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Linked stories of life in Soweto, South Africa, animate the region's fraught history of colonization and apartheid. Makhene shapes her debut story collection around suburban Soweto, from its inception during apartheid as the South-Western Townships until its eventual incorporation into Johannesburg proper. Makhene weds the region's evolving geography with a distinct sense of place, as in the title story, "Innards," which opens on Ntatemogolo's family farm, "a plump parcel on rich red earth" where generations have shepherded goats and sheep and buried umbilical cords in the ground according to tradition. The aging Ntatemogolo must sell offal to make ends meet, and Makhene renders these disparaged innards into treasure, each heart with "a bright gold fat blanketing the angry muscle." In other stories, ambitious narrative conceits don't always deliver. "7678B Old Potchefstroom Road," narrated by the home at that address, yields a conventional plot about a family reunion. But "7678B Chris Hani Road" reveals that Old Potchefstroom Road has been renamed for the leader of the South African Communist Party and artfully traces the connections between land and family back through history. Throughout the stories, Makhene peppers her prose with Dutch, Afrikaans, and South African English. Quick internet translations will reward diligent readers, but the book's most striking multilingual moments arrive when characters add their own flavor of interpretation. In "Star Colored Tears," a young man reflects on the word ninkumpupie, which sounds like "something you maybe drop from your mouth because it is hot inside from all the sweet potatoes you eat." Makhene's vividly rendered stories are propulsive and challenging. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
