A compelling tale of a marriage gone wrong…
Robinson’s stunning debut, a fictionalized account of a true story, is both a powerful and gripping novel about relationships and love with a dark undertone of violence, mental abuse, and trauma and an elaborate and fascinating portrait of the South African culture and landscape. When the young and naive Elisabeth Pieterse, a trainee nurse, meets Dion Du Toit, a wickedly handsome salesman, she has no reason to anticipate how dangerously entangled her life will become in an abusive relationship. Before long, Elisabeth, enthralled by Dion’s charming ways is married to him. As Dion sheds the mask off his suave exterior, a monster comes to surface who is nothing but a sadist, alcoholic, and a borderline narcissistic. Trapped in a relationship that offers her nothing but relentless sufferings, lies, and infidelities, Elisabeth finds it hard to let go. Robinson’s prose is precise and sensitive and her characters richly drawn: Elisabeth is remarkably sketched character, flawed to the core with her inability to walk out of the damaging relationship. Her unhappy married life is crafted with sheer honesty and skill. Despite their obvious frustrations with Elisabeth, readers will find themselves rooting for her throughout. It’s through the lives of its protagonists, that Robinson offers a captivating portrait of the South African life that pulses with life and vitality. Robinson explores the complexities of marriage, love, and relationship, questioning all the while how love can make a person go through so much. This is a must read for both lovers of literary fiction and women’s fiction.
