This Book Betrays My Brother

I came into this book with high expectations after reading Kagiso Lesego Molope’s <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3480173974?book_show_action=false&amp;from_review_page=1" rel="nofollow noopener"> <i>Such a Lonely, Lovely Road</i> </a>, one of my favorite books of 2020 and one of my favorite gay male romances of all time. I liked <i>This Book Betrays My Brother</i> though I did not love it. The novel takes place in South Africa and follows Naledi, a thirteen-year-old girl whose older brother Basi is glorified both in their family and in their broader community. Naledi does not mind how much people love her brother, as she also feels a great deal of affection for him. We witness Naledi’s coming of age, such as her growing interest in dating, until she herself sees her brother commit a horrifying act that challenges everything she thought she knew about him.<br /><br />I liked the themes of patriarchy and gender in this book. Molope shows how in this South African community, boys are often valorized and given a pass just because they are boys. She highlights how women, such as Basi’s mother, are complicit in this patriarchal notion that boys and men should not be held accountable for their actions, that by virtue of their gender they are automatically decent. Living in the United States, I feel that this patriarchal notion extends across various cultures. I appreciate reading a young adult novel that takes place outside of the United States, too.<br /><br />My two main critiques of this novel concern our protagonist’s passivity and the book’s plotting. While I don’t think a character has to be super agentic all of the time for a book to work, our main character, Naledi, is an observer for most of the book. She doesn’t really do much aside talk to a few friends and start dating this one guy. The spotlight is on Basi, which makes sense given the book’s premise, though I wish we could have seen more from Naledi. Furthermore, a lot of the book’s plot builds up to one central event in which Naledi witnesses her brother committing a horrible act. There’s not a lot of space in the novel for after that event. We don’t get much room to see Naledi’s coping process, how her worldview and relationships shift afterward, etc. While Molope draws a compelling overall message about patriarchy, gender, and violence, I would have liked to see more of that develop through Naledi’s perspective and characterization.<br /><br />Overall, a good novel but would definitely recommend <i>Such a Lonely, Lovely Road</i> first. Molope published this novel several years before <i>Such a Lonely, Lovely Road</i> so it’s nice to see her development as a writer and I’m looking forward to reading more books by her in the future! Also, trigger warning for this novel for sexual assault.

Around the World Reading Challenge: SOUTH AFRICA<br />===<br /><br />Really interesting and complex short story, exploring themes of rape culture, racism, misogyny, family loyalty, homophobia, all while coming of age. I was impressed by the ground the author covers in a relatively short book, and the ending gave me chills.

<i> <b>There's a rape scene that could've been excluded, or not described as much within this book... It's not super graphic, but it still is and there was no prior warning before the scene happens.</b> </i><br /><br />TW: ableist slurs, underage smoking, mentions of a dead body, 17/18 year olds dating 13/14 year olds (just to be safe), mention of the word tr*nsie, sexual assault, rape culture<br /><br />Note: the review has spoilers for the story and mentioned sexual assault <br /><br />The writing, the description, Naledi and all the other characters within the book are so well put together! They're all such complex characters, not one of them is one dimensional, there's always more to the character.<br /><br />Nadeli is the narrator of the story, she starts the story by explaining how thing went when her brother was born. Basi is introduced as a good boy, easy on the eye and very kind to his sister. His relationship with his sister is top notch. The way Naledi describes it, the way she discribe him....... I should've known I was being set up for disappointment. <br /><br />I'm saddened and broken. I LOVED Basi, Naledi's brother. I was routing for him, wanted him to succeed in life because he deserved it. I was there, screaming for him to have everything he wants in life. And when he said that men hurt women and men are supposed to defend, I was like yes son. But this boy, as it turns out, is trash fire tucked in a beautiful face. <br /><br />But I should've known. From the title, I should've known. The book is called This Book Betrays My Brother, and I didn't know how she does it, but I knew that it must be something bad. I mean, you can't be betraying your brother unless it's snitching coz they did something bad. And ugh, UGH! <br /><br />Kagiso Lesego Molope really set me up. She really created this character so I would fall hard and route and then she ripped him from me. She shows Basi as this good boy, this respectable boy who would never—WOULD NEVER—hurt anyone. And wow, okay, like wow. I get it, I see it. It's so well executed! <br /><br />This is the world, she almost seems to say. When society likes someone, when the person has created a persona that is likeable, that is trustworthy, why would anyone believe that they would hurt someone. “She walked into his car willingly”, “he walked her home though, and she said nothing”, “the clothes she was wearing” , “the way she was acting around him”, “he's such a good person, such a good boy”, “he would never”. <br /><br />Ugh. UGH! <br /><br />I get it. I see it. Wow.<br /><br />His parents work quick to defend him, to get him AL away and protect him. They blame Naledi, they blame Moipone, but never Basi, never their golden boy. Because he's their son, he's their shining star, the future of the family. Basi is the sweet boy with the good looks and the smarts, the boy passionate about helping others. Why would he rape someone.<br /><br />Like rape culture is real, and this story comes at you fast about it. I honestly assumed Basi killed someone, but nope, he raped a girl. And then the aunties of the community come at this poor girl, call her a liar, say she knew what she as doing because she was wearing a short skirt, a sexy top. They call her names, shame her so hard that she leaved the community. They don't protect her, don't speak up for her, because why would Basi rape her. It's just, I'm angry because this is what happens, this is how it happens. Rape culture is real and it sucks and I wish it would end.<br /><br />Basi continues to live the good life while Moipone suffers, while his sister has to live with shame because she said something. Naledi becomes the villain, Moipone becomes the villain, Ole becomes the villian and sweet Basi is the victim. It's rape culture at its finest and it SUCKS! <br /><br />This book so good, it's so well written and wow, just wow!

This week, we were teaching in person-back in my classrooms with my ELA students and our sacred reading time. My first book selection was by Kagiso Lesego Molope and it drew me in so quickly that often a student needed to whisper my name that we had gone past our 15-minute reading time. So good and also hard to read especially when we get to the climax of the story. It's definitely going to stick with me.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Goodreads review re- published 23/03/23

I didn't read anything about this book before diving in (not even the blurb on the back) but even if you do, the ending will still hit you like a wrecking ball. So much "realistic" YA only captures North American teen experiences and this was an eye-opening, gripping, beautifully written look at growing up in South Africa in the early 90s.

ARC provided by publisher<br /><br />Slowly but surely more YA books from outside the US are being published here and I am ready for it. Kagiso Lesego Molope’s “This Book Betrays My Brother,” originally published in South Africa, is evidence that we need books that give us a window into life in another country. Molope’s novel gives us a glimpse of the lives of privilege Black South Africans, specifically what life was like in the first years after apartheid ended. The novel focuses on Naledi’s emergence into womanhood as she navigates romantic relationships, old and new friendships, and deal with living in the shadow of a superstar brother. Additionally, she desires to follow the rules set by her strict mother but also wants to be a modern girl enjoying her teenage years. To add to all of this turmoil her life, Naledi’s brother, whom she’s always been close to, has drifted away from her spending more time with his friends and his new girlfriend. What I enjoyed most about this novel is that Naledi felt like one of my students which just shows that the turbulent lives contemporary teenagers live is universal. Sometimes Naledi could be a brat to her brother which really warmed me to their relationship and really emphasized the heartbreak that she feels when she witness her brother commit a heinous act. At that point, everything Naledi has believed in is called into question and she must chose between following her family or doing what is right. I felt for her and while I disagreed with her ultimate decision, Molope spent a significant amount of time exploring all the nuances of Naledi’s life that you understand how the decision she makes and how it changes who she becomes as an adult. “This Book Betrays My Brother” is a deeply moving story that explores all types of love (family, friends, romantic) and how complicated these relationships can be.

See even more book reviews at: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="http://www.lifeofafemalebibliophile.com/">http://www.lifeofafemalebibliophile.com/</a><br /><br />This Book Betrays My Brother follows the narrative of a teenage girl name Naledi. The story is told from Naledi’s perspective and focuses on her older bother Basi. They live a relatively good life in a nice house, but Naledi reminiscences about the older days when things were different. Basi hangs out with Kgosi, a boy who their mother thinks is not from a good crowd. On top of that, her brother’s brash actions cause trouble for the family.<br /><br />As we see Basi and Naledi get older, they also somewhat drift apart from each other due to the small age gap and them spending less time with each other. Basi hangs out more with Kgosi and friends and Naledi feels a bit left-behind as the secrets grow between the two. She doesn’t understand why her brother won’t confide in her anymore. The title stood out in my mind has the reader shrouded in a bit of mystery during the entire story wondering, what will Basi do?<br /><br />When you finally find out the truth, you learn that what Basi does is unforgivable. I understand why the title book is the way it is and how the structure of the story was set up. It was written almost like a diary of events and I was constantly wondering what would happen next. Naledi looks up to her bother so much but her image is shattered after she witnesses something horrible. I also like how the author brings up issues violence against women, sexism, masculinity, prejudice, and racism among other topics. The book is quite heavy in subject, but has very important narrative and brings awareness to social issues.<br /><br />Trigger Warnings: rape, death, sexual harassment/abuse<br /><br />FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from Mawenzi Publishing in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A YA novel from the point of view of a young girl pulled in different directions by family loyalty, morality, culture, and her own intuition. Naledi is growing up in a country trying to find its new shape, following the advent of a hard-won democacy – this is South Africa in the mid 1990s, when the nation’s recent oppressors still have far too much clout (a boy is stood down from a rugby match against a white school).<br />Forbidden subjects and family expectation weigh heavily, but Naledi has a strong if troublesome sense of right and wrong; in a world so ordered that the blessed, those born bright and beautiful, like her illustrious, universally loved and admired older brother, are untouchable, can she find the courage to speak up when she witnesses wrong? How will she bear the subsequent pain if she does?<br />A powerful YA novel, first published in 2012, and still relevant now.<br />

Its been a long time since I've read a YA novel (never has it been a genre I am particularly fond of) and to find this book as assigned reading for my postcolonial class was quite surprising. Not only does it camouflages itself as a YA novel, one could also argue that the themes found in it is more profound than your average young teen grappling with puberty, love and all that jazz. What we have here is a mystery, identity crises, sexuality and sexual harassment, feminism, a lil bit of African history and culture, but most importantly, or rather, the central theme binding everything, family. This is a novel which will stay in the depths of my mind for a long time to come.

Kagiso has won my heart as one of my favorite authors