Bitter Reads from Bitter Harvest

Bitter Harvest by Roxanne Elizabeth Dent

I didn't really know what to expect when I picked this book up, but I happened to pick it up right when the World Cup was starting this year in South Africa. The timing, apparently, couldn't have been better. Although this book rubbed me the wrong way, I think it was intentional. There were aspects of the book that I really didn't like, but in the end I feel it was a good read. It seems like one of those books you might have to read a couple of times before you really "get" it.

The cover artwork and snippets came from the beginning of the book, when Kiliaen von Cortland and his twin sister Anna were young and in love with others their own age who didn't want anything to do with them because their mother was not entirely white. Not knowing a lot about the history of South Africa, I didn't realize immediately what was going on. From the genre of romance, which is what I thought I was reading due to the cover artwork, I expected a happy ending or at least a very happy twist. Unfortunately, I was not pleased with the way the book traveled.

The story tells of Kiliaen and his family, but he and his sister are really only evident for the first 100 or so pages. That's out of the total of 457 pages... not enough of a story, I feel, to inspire the cover artwork and snippets. The rest of the story does continue with extended family, and even comes into the present day. Many years are skipped, to proceed from 1807 to 1966, and that was part of what bothered me. In the end, it seems that the entire family was struggling due to the issues that began with Kiliaen and his sister. It seems, after I have had time to reflect, that the issues and struggles that were written about that caused me so much annoyance while reading were done on purpose - it was as though the author was letting me in to the struggle and turmoil that the characters themselves had experienced when racial or socio-economic issues were preventing them from being with their true loves.

As a romance, I would not qualify this book to fit in that category. Yes, there were moments of "passion", but there was also rape, suicide and death. To me it seems that this book might fit in a different niche - fiction, perhaps, but that the cover artwork might be off putting to some people who might need to or would appreciate reading it. The topics covered were not comfortable, and the writing lends the reader to feel some of that sensitivity, and I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone. For someone who enjoys reading about the struggles of other cultures or who is not merely looking for a happy ending, this book may be appropriate. Even better would be someone who is interested historically in the ways people and society behave. But there are good aspects that even casual readers can appreciate.

This book was borrowed from a book exchange. I have received no compensation for writing this review.