The Housemaid's Daughter
Barbara Mutch, 2013
St. Martin's Press
416 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250054463
Summary
Barbara Mutch's stunning first novel tells a story of love and duty colliding on the arid plains of Apartheid-era South Africa
When Cathleen Harrington leaves her home in Ireland in 1919 to travel to South Africa, she knows that she does not love the man she is to marry there—her fiance Edward, whom she has not seen for five years.
Isolated and estranged in a small town in the harsh Karoo desert, her only real companions are her diary and her housemaid, and later the housemaid's daughter, Ada. When Ada is born, Cathleen recognizes in her someone she can love and respond to in a way that she cannot with her own family.
Under Cathleen's tutelage, Ada grows into an accomplished pianist and a reader who cannot resist turning the pages of the diary, discovering the secrets Cathleen sought to hide. As they grow closer, Ada sees new possibilities in front of her—a new horizon.
But in one night, everything changes, and Cathleen comes home from a trip to find that Ada has disappeared, scorned by her own community. Cathleen must make a choice: should she conform to society, or search for the girl who has become closer to her than her own daughter?
Set against the backdrop of a beautiful, yet divided land, The Housemaid's Daughter is a startling and thought-provoking novel that intricately portrays the drama and heartbreak of two women who rise above cruelty to find love, hope, and redemption. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—South Africa
• Education—Rhodes Univesity (S.A.)
• Currently—lives in Surrey, England, UK
Barbara was born and brought up in South Africa, the granddaughter of Irish immigrants who settled in the Karoo in the early 1900s. She went to school in Durban and Port Elizabeth and then graduated from Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape during the height of apartheid.
She is married and has two sons. For most of the year the family lives in Surrey near London but spends time whenever possible at their home in the Cape.
Barbara loves music and is a gifted pianist like Ada in The Housemaid's Daughter. She is an amateur naturalist with a particular interest in Cape fynbos and birds, as well as being a follower of African politics and history. (From .)
Book Reviews
Interludes from Cathleen’s diary, intended to supply an additional perspective, are a bit heavy-handed, as is the predictable (and bleak) ending. But a vividly drawn setting and Ada’s consistent, special voice drive the story and keep the pages turning.
Publishers Weekly
[A] dark read. Mutch's characters are not very complex, but her setting is a fascinating one, and she does an excellent job of showing the horrifying effects of apartheid law on individual lives. —Mara Bandy, Champaign P.L., IL
Library Journal
South Africa before, during and after apartheid.… In creating a white Lady Bountiful and a wise but unworldly black servant, South African Mutch has [much] in common with The Help's Kathryn Stockett….
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
1. Do you think the author captures Cathleen’s loneliness and did you sympathize with her sense of isolation?
2. How would you sum up Cathleen and Ada’s relationship? And what does each of them bring to it?
3. Ada’s character develops throughout the book. What words would you use to describe her as a child, a young woman, and then as an adult?
4. Why do you think Ada felt her relationship with Edward was her duty?
5. How do you feel South Africa’s political background colors the novel?
6. Why do you think Dawn is so much more entrenched in the life of the township than her mother is?
7. Did you believe that Ada’s method of approaching the Mayor and the newspaper direct about housing was effective?
8. What do you think happened to Jake?
9. Why do you think Rose behaves in the way that she does?
10. What do you feel that the theme of music contributes to the book?
11. Did you feel that the author offered a real sense of hope with the return of Helen?
12. Did you identify any metaphors that the author uses to enhance the story?
13. What incident affected you the most in the book? And what emotions were you left with?
14. If you were to meet Ada today, what single question would you ask her?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)