This Book Betrays My Brother

by Kagiso Lesego Molope Narrated by Jacqui Du Toit

Overview

Winner of the Ottawa Book Award, English Fiction, 2019

Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2018

Named to the Globe 100, 2018

CBC Books, Top YA Pick for 2018

Named to Best Books for Kids and Teens, Fall 2018

Named to Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Books, 2018

What does a teenage girl do when she sees her beloved older brother commit a horrific crime? Should she report to her parents, or should she keep quiet? Should she confront him? All her life, Naledi has been in awe of Basi, her charming and outgoing older brother. They've shared their childhood, with its jokes and secrets, the alliances and stories about the community. Having reached thirteen, she is preparing to go to the school dance. Then she sees Basi commit an act that violates everything she believes about him. How will she live her life now?

This coming-of-age novel brings together many social issues, peculiar not only to South Africa but elsewhere as well, in the modern world: class and race, young love and physical desire, homosexuality. In beautiful, lyrical, and intimate prose, Molope shows the dilemmas facing a young woman as she attempts to find her place in a new, multiracial, and dynamic nation emerging into the world after more than a century of racist colonialism. A world now dominated by men.

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Editorial Reviews

MARCH 2021 - AudioFile

Narrator Jacqui Du Toit’s tone changes from bright and naïve to stunned and pained as 13-year-old Naledi witnesses her brother’s crime. That event makes it clear why she feels the need to betray him years later. Du Toit’s accent reflects the novel’s South African setting. You can hear young Naledi’s coy grins as she details her sheltered family life, which includes running a general store, going to private schools, and living in the glow of the bright star that is her brother Basi. Du Toit creates vivid characters, and she deftly handles the many languages threaded throughout the story. Toxic masculinity lurks behind the coming-of-age antics, subtly revealing the many ways it damages women. A beautiful, suspenseful, and heartbreaking novel and performance. S.T.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

"This poignant novel presents us with a girl on the cusp of womanhood desperately trying to navigate the dissonant sociocultural imperatives placed on men and women in her society." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"The author examines the many systemic forces involved in maintaining a society that protects its chosen sons as it vilifies its daughters who choose to speak up . . . a timely and worthy choice for any public or school library." —School Library Journal

"Molope's prose is exhilarating and she shines in the development of a character that you not only root for, but are desperate to defend." —Quill & Quire, Editor's Choice

"In the era of Time's Up and #MeToo, this book is increasingly relevant and manages to handle heavy issues with poignancy and power. Told in a poetic voice, this story engrosses the reader from the beginning, and the last lines carry such an impact they'll leave the reader feeling forever changed." —Canadian Children's Book News

"The novel delivers an authentic depiction of the complex issues of gender, race, and class in South Africa in an accessible way for readers of all backgrounds. Through Molope's elegant and effective prose, readers will gain an understanding of culture and community in the place Nedi calls home." —CM: Canadian Review of Materials

"A powerful read, This Book Betrays My Brother, covers important topics such as racism, sexism, poverty, and sexual assault." —Amy Mathers, National Reading Campaign

"...a beautifully written and absolutely haunting novel." —Canadian Literature

"This Book Betrays My Brother is a masterfully written coming-of-age novel which brings together many ideas and themes: a powerful narrative about our increasingly fissured world. —Wasafiri

School Library Journal

06/01/2018
Gr 9 Up—Naledi begins narrating this novel set in South Africa with an explanation of her brother's place within the family. Basimane is the dream her mother fought for desperately and his father's pride and joy. In addition to being Naledi's brother, Basi is also her best friend and most trusted ally. She looks to him for protection and advice. Basi is a staunch supporter of his best friend Kgosi's mother, Nono, who is in prison for killing Kgosi's father. He speaks with Naledi about Kgosi's father's bad behavior and how Nono suffered. Naledi is therefore shocked when she witnesses her brother raping his girlfriend, Moipone. His actions and the community's response to the rape allegations confuse her. Naledi is torn between being loyal to a brother she loves and exposing a truth she knows. This is a complex look at rape culture. It is a commentary on the social constructs of gender, race, and class, and their ability to determine a person's veracity. A woman in Naledi's culture is easily discredited by her position within the community, her age, and her education. The author examines the many systemic forces involved in maintaining a society that protects its chosen sons as it vilifies its daughters who choose to speak up. VERDICT This novel is a timely and worthy choice for any public or school library.—Desiree Thomas, Worthington Library, OH

MARCH 2021 - AudioFile

Narrator Jacqui Du Toit’s tone changes from bright and naïve to stunned and pained as 13-year-old Naledi witnesses her brother’s crime. That event makes it clear why she feels the need to betray him years later. Du Toit’s accent reflects the novel’s South African setting. You can hear young Naledi’s coy grins as she details her sheltered family life, which includes running a general store, going to private schools, and living in the glow of the bright star that is her brother Basi. Du Toit creates vivid characters, and she deftly handles the many languages threaded throughout the story. Toxic masculinity lurks behind the coming-of-age antics, subtly revealing the many ways it damages women. A beautiful, suspenseful, and heartbreaking novel and performance. S.T.C. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2018-04-30
A story of one girl's attempts to understand and abide by the unspoken rules of familial loyalty in a post-apartheid South African town.Molope (The Mending Season, 2005, etc.) introduces us to Basimane, the first son of a South African family, through the voice of his sister, Naledi. When, as an adult, Naledi sees a woman from her youth, a tiny scar on the woman's face kick-starts reveries of her childhood and the one fateful night that changed little for her brother and parents but everything for Naledi and her closest friend, Ole, who hid her sexuality in their community. Naledi and Basimane lead affluent lives, embedded in a society fraught with issues of racism and classism as well as intergenerational gendered expectations. When their father's business success enables them to move up in society Basimane continues his close association with his old friends, the township boys, much to his mother's chagrin. Meanwhile Naledi oscillates between nostalgia and embracing the social distance her mother imposes. She closely watches her older brother's violent treatment of women, attempting to reconcile his hypocritical behavior as he simultaneously seeks justice for his best friend's mother, incarcerated for self-defense in the face of domestic violence.This poignant novel presents us with a girl on the cusp of womanhood desperately trying to navigate the dissonant sociocultural imperatives placed on men and women in her society. (Fiction. 13-adult)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940177069388
Publisher:	ECW Press
Publication date:	10/30/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged

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