A Conspiracy of Mothers

A Novel

By: Colleen van Niekerk

Narrated by: Kineta Kunutu

Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

From a bold new voice in literary fiction comes a compelling story of three mothers whose lives intersect during a generation-defining period in South Africa’s history.

The year is 1994, and South Africa is in political turmoil as its first democratic election looms. Against a backdrop of apartheid and racial violence, traumatized artist Yolanda Petersen returns from the Appalachian foothills to the land of her youth at the behest of her mother. While there Yolanda longs to reconnect with her estranged daughter, Ingrid, the product of an illegal mixed-race affair with a white man.

But Ingrid is missing, and as Yolanda quickly discovers, she isn’t the only woman in Cape Town desperate to protect her own. Ingrid’s very existence is proof of a white man’s crime, and that man’s mother will do anything - even kill - to ensure the truth remains buried.

An evocative debut novel set during a defining period in history, A Conspiracy of Mothers tells a gripping story of love and betrayal from multiple perspectives while deftly balancing the painful legacy of apartheid with the trials of motherhood.

©2021 by Colleen Louw. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Narrator Kineta Kunutu's South African accent is paired with a slow, melodic cadence for the sweeping narration of this convoluted novel…. Kunutu uses a mélange of accents for the multitude of characters who tell their interconnected stories. British and Afrikaans accents, along with a fluid timeline, the presence of magic, and waking dreams, require close attention from the listener.”—AudioFile Magazine

“Originally from Johannesburg, Kunutu understands and accurately captures the personality of each American and South African character she portrays with impassioned, authentic dialects. The audio is a perfect avenue for listeners to hear multiple perspectives and perceive the characters’ experiences of conflict with love, loss, abandonment, and self-identity in a politically charged environment; to be captivated by descriptive passages and landscapes; and to find intrigue in the haunting that compels a daughter’s intuition to ‘come home.’”—Booklist

“Deeply affecting and beautifully rendered, A Conspiracy of Mothers is a tapestry woven with sacrifice, suffering, and loss but also with a love between generations of women so deep it invokes ancestral magic that defies the laws of space and time. This story of pilgrimage and reckoning amid the unraveling of apartheid should resonate with anyone interested in breaking down systems of racism and oppression, wherever they exist. A brilliant novel to be read alongside Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime and Isabel Wilkerson’s Caste.”—Susan Bernhard, author of Winter Loon

Great book! Hard to put down

The author is amazing and so is the narrator. The author keeps the tension high but at the same time her writing is very authentic. She moves from the USA to London and South Africa with ease. The narrator nails the various accents, especially the Boers and Cape Coloreds. Keep the tissues handy!

ignorant judgmental people in the world

Sad to know how ignorant, judgmental and hurtful people have always been, and still are

Captivating

Just enough:
Romance
History
Intrigue

I didn't want it to end, so I found myself listening to parts over again. Happy Endings!!!

sacrifice and vision

loved the story of sacrifices of mothers - each different; did not love the visions - detracted more than it added

Loved it!!

A very good read on 1980s Apartheid in South Africa. I would definitely recommend it.

Color should not matter

I believe that our different skin colors, religions and cultures should be blended. We are different, but should unite with kindness and compassion.

The story was important. I felt it was unnecessary to write about visions. I would have preferred to simply hear the story of these very different people and how they discovered a way to unite.

Astonishing book!

This beautifully written and constructed book will bring you both pleasure and pain as it recounts the human suffering behind the apartheid system of South Africa.

Eye-opening

I am so glad I read this book. I was so blind about South Africa and apartheid. I highly recommend this book. The struggles of the protagonist in this story and the imagery ancient black rituals and how they intertwine with in this story is so interesting and enlightening. The conflict of the antagonist with colored people of South Africa before and after apartheid was insightful.

Mothers

I loved it..This is a good story, very mystical, it shares some of the horror but also a lot of love

Deeply profound, crossing all boundaries.

Although I grew up about us far from South Africa as you can get the smell and flavor and heart rending truths of this book brought to my heart and incredible awareness of deep pain and rare love that crosses all boundaries.