South Africa
This novel takes place among a network of village communities in South Africa. The villages are livable, but only in the context of family. When a woman does not have a provider, like Chanda's family after the death of all the family men, then she is not enfranchised to the benefits of her community. She is asked to survive the cruel challenges of death with fewer resources than anyone else and with more natural burden, stemming from her role as a mother and care-taker of young children.
Violation
The imagery of sexual assault and rape are prevalent throughout the book. The threat looms any time the women are alone or walking from one place to another. The imagery is unfortunate and high in tragedy and trauma. The women are constantly asked to suffer in horrific ways, as Chanda's story clearly demonstrates. Her rape happened while she was trying to warm up to a seemingly-friendly man who was becoming her step-father. The man is simply a wolf in sheep's clothing. This imagery adds a level of horror to the text.
Mental health issues
The chronic exposure to risk and hopeless situations makes Chanda's mother seriously panicked and chronically depressed. She feels that she is not allowed any pleasure or relaxation in life, and she makes a compelling point in that emotion. Likewise, she identifies closely with Jonah who also has his demons to say the least. His battle against alcoholism is a serious indication of mental health issues, because with hope, he would navigate that temptation more diligently. Without hope, he has no reason to fight against his lust for escape—which alcohol provides like a sadomasochistic genie in a bottle.
Death and responsibility
Death is shown in this novel as a heavy catalyst for emotional changes. The weight of death incites the plot, and death is a looming threat throughout, and then Jonah dies and Esther is diagnosed with a terminal illness (AIDS is certainly terminal in this novel's setting). The way death affects the family is primarily shown through two lenses, the mother and the daughter's lenses. The mother is completely undone by the way death constantly makes her a martyr of her own disenfranchisement and loneliness, and Chanda is existentially overwhelmed by her fate to not only survive, but to support her siblings in her mother's absence.
