Review Of The World Beneath
The World Beneath by Janice Warman is a thought-provoking novel set around the pick of the anti-apartheid era. Joshua is a young who lives with his mother in the maid’s room at the back of their wealthy but rather dysfunctional white employer’s house, the Malherbe’s, in the city by the sea. This is during the rise of anti apartheid struggle in South Africa, 1976. His siblings live in the rural village with his grandparents; he could not live with them because he had tuberculosis as a child and therefore required care from his mother. He helps his mother with the house jobs and also in garden jobs.
When riots start sweeping the country, Joshua rescued a stranger from the bloody riots because he could not know what was going on around him. After some conversations with family and friends, Joshua slowly starts to realize that the life he knows is unfair and has little to no opportunities than white Africans; he learns that one does not always have to acquiescent which was their case to their employer. The book tells us about a life of boy who has to face the world beneath, which means that the world deep inside and around him which force him to make heartbreaking choices that will change his life forever!Joshua’s character is well described as a compliant, humble and a strong boy. One can believe in a boy who sees the incidents around him as thought provoking and has to make tough decisions in order to fight for what he believes is right. The themes change from the villages to city, facing reality, rescuing a stranger, fighting tuberculosis, making heartbreaking decision and fighting for what he strongly believes in.
The description of the anti-apartheid era is well described and brings a reader to a sense of knowing how life was during that time. The author really shares the experience of the apartheid which proves that she really is from South Africa. For someone who does not know the history of the apartheid, they will most probably struggle to understand the book. The book is written wonderfully and with evocation. I personal like the shift from naivety to understanding the world around. It can be enjoyed teenagers, young adults and adults alike.
