Customer Reviews

The Road to Home

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

To be completely honest, I wasn't looking forward to reading "inspirational fiction," but I was COMPLETELY SURPRISED to find myself caught up in this story (and now halfway through the sequel). Sure, it reads a little like a Hallmark movie, but one that is set amid violence and an AIDS epidemic that South Africa's leadership has been extremely slow to address.

I had the great fortune to have the author present at a recent book club discussion of her work. Hearing her first-hand accounts of the violence and politics only made me more appreciative of the book. If you are interested in the country, or are drawn in the least to the images that Oprah and others deliver to Americans in neat, tidy packages, you will enjoy The Road to Home.

This is a lovely book with a story that builds to a very powerful end. It moves so subtly you almost don't realize how caught up you are until you are there.

Two women become friends, despite all the barriers that exist between white and black people in post-Apartheid South Africa. Both women find themselves in situations that force them to evaluate what's important in their lives. In the process, they become important to each other.

I really loved this book. Twice it brought me to tears. The writing is lovely, and the message is both hopeful and kind.

Post apartheid South Africa and AIDS are difficult topics to cover. The author descibes a situation facing millions daily, describing both the good and the bad without ever passing judgement or searching for a romantic ending. We are instead lead on a thought-provoking journey with the main characters. A great read, can't wait for the sequel.

This novel had powerful characters that both inspired and moved one to question some of the deeper questions, including the meaning of one's life. The setting, post-apartheid South Africa, is a character itself and provides the background for some meaningful events to take place. It's nice to read something so different than many novels set in average America. The plot held my attention and the characters held my heart. I highly recommend this novel and look forward to her future works.

A great story of friendship and courage dealing with very real and tragic situations in the new South Africa. Written with humor and understanding of true friendship. There are heart warming moments that will bring tears to your eyes, a real page turner. Read by our book club and enjoyed by all. I hope that this first time author will be writing more novels.

Powerful and poignant, for every South African that is courageous enough to have their eyes opened post-apartheid. Through Monica, we experience a journey that is all too familiar, wrestling with the wrongs of the past and feeling inspired for the future of this beautiful country.
For every non-South African - a true insight into a kaleidoscopic country. I laughed, I cringed, I cried - utterly brilliant. Sequel please?

After reading the other reviews, I gather that you either love this book, or don't like it/don't understand it. I belong to the former group of readers. I had absolutely no idea what this book was about when I started it. Several hours later I was done with it and ready to write a review--something I have never done before. This book, this story, these two women, were worth telling others about. When you can easily waste hours reading garbage about vampires or witches, it was delightful to find I was reading a book that was entertaining AND teaching me as well.

Yes, there were times when I had to refer to the beginning of the chapter to remind myself of the narrator. Yes, the sudden switch in attitudes seem miraculous, except when you consider that God was involved in changing peoples' hearts. For people living under the cruel regime of Apartheid, there were virtually no opportunities to know someone of another ethnicity, segregation was the whole point of Apartheid--that, and to create an atmosphere of fear to further alienate people. Some of the most difficult books I've ever read dealt with how families lived, as blacks, under the oppression that was that form of government. I would recommend anything by Mark Mathabane as an example for anyone interested in reading autobiographical/biographical accounts of living in Soweto during Apartheid.

This book is not only a wonderful and uplifting story of the power of overcoming prejudices and adversity, but also a riveting story of post-Apartheid struggles for equality, self-respect and meaningful friendships. It gave an excellent glance at history from the afrikaaners' perspective, especially in the death of Monica's brother. I wasn't moved to feel that their lives were in any way worse than the blacks, but I have a better knowledge of the white perspective during that difficult transition. As a former Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa at the time just prior to the end of Apartheid, I was well aware of the true anguish of a continent for an oppressed people. It was educational to read how the end came about and begin to understand the complexities of forming a new government. I obviously need to do some further reading to fill the gaps in my knowledge of what happened later.

Kudos to the people of South Africa for sacrificing so much to reform the nation that successful hosted the World Cup.

As for Monica, Francina, Sipho and Mandla, I am now going to see if there's a sequel!

Vanessa Del Fabbro has written a compelling first novel rich with complex characters and an absorbing plot, all set against the fascinating backdrop of South Africa in the wake of apartheid. My own heart was touched by Monica's awakening to her own fears and prejudices. With an ending to stand up and cheer about, this book is a real treasure. I'm eager to read the other books in the series.

I picked up this book while I was recuperating from a concussion, so when the heroine (one of 2) is lying in a hospital, suffering from a carjacking/shooting, the pain she goes through helped get me through my own<g>.
What a powerful story. It really opened my eyes to S.Africa today. I had assumed S.Africa was the most developed African nation, and things had progressed quite nicely since the end of apartheid. Was I ever wrong! One thing I really liked was how del Fabbro described so many of the players in post-apartheid S. Africa and wove the history of the situation in such a way that didn't bog down the reader but helped him/her to understand the situation today more fully. I especially liked reading about the Dutch (Boer) faction, since I live in the Netherlands.
The story of two women and two young children is poignant and moved me to tears more than once. I really look forward to reading her next book which continues the story.
This book won a Christy award and I can see it was well-deserved! When I finished it, I thought to myself, this would make an excellent Oprah Book Club pick.

This is our current Book Club book from my church. I was disapointed in this book. It was just not interesting, it was confusing to me switching back and forth between the two main characters. I found myself skimming through the book just in order to finish it before our Book Club meeting. Several of our other members really liked the book. I guess it just wasn't my kind of book. It did enlighten me to the types of prejudices in South Africa between the white classes and even the black classes. Amazing! I wouldn't want to live there, that's for sure.