Hum If You Don't Know the Words cover art

Hum If You Don't Know the Words

 Preview
Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Hum If You Don't Know the Words

By: Bianca Marais
Narrated by: Katharine Lee McEwan, Bahni Turpin
Try Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

About this listen

 Perfect for readers of The Secret Life of Bees and The Help, a perceptive and searing look at Apartheid-era South Africa, told through one unique family brought together by tragedy.

Life under Apartheid has created a secure future for Robin Conrad, a ten-year-old white girl living with her parents in 1970s Johannesburg. In the same nation but worlds apart, Beauty Mbali, a Xhosa woman in a rural village in the Bantu homeland of the Transkei, struggles to raise her children alone after her husband's death. Both lives have been built upon the division of race, and their meeting should never have occurred...until the Soweto Uprising, in which a protest by black students ignites racial conflict, alters the fault lines on which their society is built, and shatters their worlds when Robin’s parents are left dead and Beauty’s daughter goes missing.

After Robin is sent to live with her loving but irresponsible aunt, Beauty is hired to care for Robin while continuing the search for her daughter. In Beauty, Robin finds the security and family that she craves, and the two forge an inextricable bond through their deep personal losses. But Robin knows that if Beauty finds her daughter, Robin could lose her new caretaker forever, so she makes a desperate decision with devastating consequences. Her quest to make amends and find redemption is a journey of self-discovery in which she learns the harsh truths of the society that once promised her protection.

Told through Beauty and Robin's alternating perspectives, the interwoven narratives create a rich and complex tapestry of the emotions and tensions at the heart of Apartheid-era South Africa. Hum If You Don’t Know the Words is a beautifully rendered look at loss, racism, and the creation of family. Coming of Age Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Africa Village Tear-jerking
All stars
Most relevant
I loved this book from the moment it started. I knew nothing about the Soweto uprising and very little about Apartheid and so I have learned some things while listening to the story unfold. The dual POV between Beauty and Robin is so perfectly written and blended. Highly recommended!

Brilliant book, wonderful narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Amazing read, from a place and era I grew up in. It made me reflect on my life and upbringing. Really looking forward to the next one.

Fabulous

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wonderful story of a young white girl and a black woman whose lives become entwined after the Soweto riots of the 1970s. Both narrators do a great job of bringing the main characters to life. I laughed and cried and fell in love with both characters. Highly recommend and keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel. 😊

Fantastic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I can’t recommend this story highly enough. The characters are so well drawn and the story draws you in. It is very easy to listen to, the narrators do an excellent job.

Absolutely brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The narrator's fake South African accent was so jarring I had to quit the story. Surely a myriad of South African actors with authentic accents could have narrated the story?
I like the story, so I'll buy the book and that way the writer doesn't lose out. Hopefully someone at Audible will see the review and make better choices.

The narrator can make or break an audiobook

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.