The author Bianca Marais discusses her first novel Hum If You Don’t Know the Words (Putnam, 2017), Apartheid in South Africa, and more, with Joseph Planta.

Hum If You Don’t Know the Words by Bianca Marais (Putnam, 2017). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Hum If You Don’t Know the Words

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, at TheCommentary.ca.

A new novel provides a view onto life under Apartheid in South Africa: Hum If You Don’t Know the Words. It is written by the author Bianca Marais, who joins me now. It is her first novel, and it’s getting good notices. The book sees a 10-year old white girl named Robin, living with her parents in 1970s Johannesburg. They are killed, and Robin is raised by an aunt, who hires Beauty, a black woman from a rural village to care for her. Amidst the Soweto Uprising, Beauty’s own daughter goes missing. I’ll get Ms. Marais to tell us how much she’d like about this book, about these characters, the situations they encounter, and the themes explored. Bianca Marais studied creative writing at the University of Toronto’s SCS. Her work has been published in World Enough, and Crime. She is originally from South Africa, but lives in Toronto, where she joins me from today. The website for more is at www.biancamarais.com. This new book is published by Putnam. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line, Bianca Marais; Ms. Marais, good morning.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (15.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS