This book starts with our heroine, the knowledge-hungry and extremely intelligent, Nombeko, a black girl in apartheid South Africa who is surviving but barely, alongside a mother who has no eagerness to live. Eventually, Nombeko has to find her way on her own.
Jonasson has created someone in Nombeko who is to be admired as she knows just how to take care of herself, from making sure that she has scissors with her when meeting with men with designs on her, to gathering knowledge in such a way as to make herself useful and ultimately, indispensable. She sits under the radar, biding her time until an opportunity presents itself to her benefit, which usually happens serendipitously rather than by contrivance on her part; she is in the right place at the right time with the right skills needed for the situation that presents itself.
The book progresses through a series of unlikely events which eventually lead Nombeko to Sweden where the story develops in line with the title of the book.
Alongside Nombeko’s narrative is the story of Holger and Holger (you need to read the book to find out about these brothers) and Jonasson switches between the two strands until they collide, progressing the plot then as one.
This is a strange book but that’s not to say that it isn’t entertaining. It has surrealist elements but never spills over completely into abstract ridiculousness. It keeps its roots enough in reality to make it a novel where fun is being poked, mildly but satirically. It’s accessible and it’s fun in a lot of ways. I’m trying to pinpoint exactly what I got from it and I’m not sure really! The Holgers and their upbringing is eccentric at best, weird at worst. It is perhaps their story with which I have the most difficulty.
However, I liked Nombeko very much. She is a strong female character, intelligently so, who is a survivor but she is not feisty for feistiness’ sake; she shows it when it’s needed. In that regard, she is controlled and determined and constant. She feels like a safe pair of hands in a world which Jonasson presents as slightly dangerous, mainly as a result of being disorganised or badly organised, or maybe a bit of both. I wanted to see her succeed.
And for this reason, I would recommend it. But it’s a niche read, I think.
Scuffed Granny 