The Woman Next Door (novel)
_book_cover.jpg) | |
| Author | Yewande Omotoso |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Set in | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Published | 2016 |
| Publisher |
|
| Pages | 304 |
| ISBN | 978-0008203566 |
| Preceded by | Bom Boy |
| Followed by | An Unusual Grief |
The Woman Next Door is a 2016 novel written by Yewande Omotoso and published by Chatto and Windus in the United Kingdom, Picador in the United States, Farafina in Nigeria and Penguin Random House in South Africa. It was Omotoso's second novel.
Development and publication[edit]
Omotoso found inspiration for one of the characters, Hortensia, during the funeral of her grandfather in Barbados in 2012,[1] and started writing the novel between 2013 and 2014.[2] In preparation, Omotoso conducted interviews, read news from the Cape Argus and Cape Times during the period of Apartheid in South Africa and spent time in a Jewish old-people's home in Cape Town, as well as visiting District Six Museum, the Jewish Museum and the Slave Lodge.[1]
The Woman Next Door was published in 2016 by Chatto and Windus in the United Kingdom, Picador in the United States, Farafina in Nigeria and Penguin Random House in South Africa. It was Omotoso's second novel and her first to be published in the US.[3]: 1 [4] In an interview with NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Omotoso revealed that she did not plan on writing a story with a happy ending.[5]
Plot summary[edit]
The novel is set in Katterijin, a suburb community in Cape Town, and features two women who are widowed and both in their 80s: Hortensia James an international fashion designer, who is the only black homeowner in the suburb, and Marion Agostino, a white Jewish woman who is an architect. Both women hate one another but unite following an accident.
Themes[edit]
Danette Frederique identified "South Africa's post-Apartheid closet, including land rights, reconciliation and white guilt" as the themes.[6]
Reception[edit]
Publishers Weekly referred to it as "this charming, touching, occasionally radiant tale of two prickly octogenarians: two women, one black and one white, neighbours who discover after 20 years of exchanging digs and insults that they might help each other... Omotoso captures the changing racial relations since the 1950s, as well as the immigrant experience through personal detail and small psychological insights into mixed emotions, the artist's eye, and the widow's remorse. Hers is a fresh voice as adept at evoking the peace of walking up a kopje as the cruelty of South Africa’s past."[7] The Irish Independent described it as "a finely observed account of female prejudice, redemption and that often elusive commodity – friendship."[8] Kirkus Reviews called the book "[a] pleasing tale of reconciliation laced with acid humor and a cheery avoidance of sentimentality."[9] Olatoun Williams of Borders Literature Online called it "a thought provoking, and immensely readable fictional biography."[3]: 3
In The Harvard Crimson, it received a 3.5 star rating, citing that it "reads more like a beach book than a serious piece of literature, the novel's discussion of difficult topics such as racism, apartheid, grief, and the past add a depth that a lesser novel would lack",[4] while Freya Neason of Palatinate gave a less positive review, citing as shortcomings the storyline, writing style and the characters' "constant grumbles and criticisms quickly [becoming] cumbersome".[10]
The Woman Next Door was shortlisted for the University of Johannesburg Prize in 2016[11] and the Sunday Times Barry Ronge Fiction Prize in 2017,[12] was longlisted for the 2017 Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction,[13][14] and went on to be shortlisted for the 2018 International Dublin Literary Award,[15] with the descrition: "A wonderfully acute portrayal of the relationship between two women...(one of the joys of reading The Woman Next Door is how wickedly funny it is)...."[16]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Omotoso, Yewande (3 July 2017). "'I appreciate stories that mess with me a little': Yewande Omotoso on her latest book, The Woman Next Door". Johannesburg Review of Books (Interview). Interviewed by Jennifer Malec. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ Omotoso, Yewande. "Yewande Omotoso: My Characters Determine The Course Of My Stories". TheNEWS (Interview). Interviewed by Adefoyeke Ajao. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ a b Williams, Olatoun. "THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR by Yewande Omotoso" (PDF). Borders Literature Online. Borders Literature Online. p. 4.
- ^ a b Tew, Caroline E. (28 February 2017). "'The Woman Next Door' Subtle but Effective". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ Omotoso, Yewande (12 February 2017). "'Next Door' Neighbors Gradually Learn To Get Along In Post-Apartheid Cape Town". NPR (Interview). Interviewed by Lulu Garcia-Navarro. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ Frederique, Danette (12 May 2016). "Book reviews: When two old ladies go to war". City Press. Media24. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ "The Woman Next Door". Publishers Weekly. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ Conroy, Deirdre (27 June 2016). "Fiction: The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso". Irish Independent. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR". Kirkus Reviews. 6 November 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ Neason, Freya (16 April 2017). "Book Review: The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso". Palatinate. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ Malec, Jennifer (6 June 2017). "UJ Prize shortlists announced: Fiction, poetry, short stories, essays and biography feature". The Johannesburg Review of Books. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ Malec, Jennifer (25 June 2017). "Zakes Mda and Greg Marinovich win Sunday Times Literary Awards". The Johannesburg Review of Books. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ Kean, Danuta (8 March 2017). "Baileys women's prize 2017 longlist sees established names eclipse debuts". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "A Q&A with Yewande Omotoso". Women's Prize for Fiction. 6 March 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ Obi-Young, Otosirieze (6 April 2018). "Yewande Omotoso Is on the Shortlist of the €100,000 International Dublin Literary Award". Brittle Paper. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
- ^ "2018 SHORTLIST | The Woman Next Door | Yewande Omotoso". Dublin Lterary Award.
External links[edit]
- Kwanele Sosibo, "Neighbourly complicity: Yewande Omotoso's The Woman Next Door", The Mail & Guardian, 13 May 2026.
- "Africa's Lit: The Woman Next Door, ft Yewande Omotoso". YouTube video interview, 10 October 2016.