Stellenbosch is known to be one of the richest Afrikaner towns in South Africa and home to the finest wines in the world. Politically, the town has been labelled by some as the home of the white monopoly capitalists, referring to the powerful and wealthy businessmen who resides in the town. However, like many rich towns in South Africa, Stellenbosch has its own scandals which at times are swept under the rug whilst others sporadically pop-up like the Steinhoff incident, a scandal which the town is still reeling from its effect to this day. In Sex, Lies & Stellenbosch, author Eva Mazza exposes the most confidential scandal that dominates the majority of Stellenbosch households, infidelity.
Many women who are married to these powerful wealthy men in the town continue to die in silence in marriages that are characterised by unfaithfulness. The bulk of them cannot divorce their cheating husbands in a fear of losing their lavish lifestyles and financial security should they decide to end their loveless marriages. Through a fictitious character named Jen Pearce, Mazza takes the reader through a loveless, scandalous and unhappy marriage in the Pearce household. Jen’s husband, John, is the one who is an unfaithful partner in this union and offers his ‘John-John’ to every woman in his sight, including his employees.
This is a book that will motivate and encourage many unhappily married women out there to fight and find their own happiness in the midst of uncertainties in their marriages. That they should not be scared to leave a marriage if it no longer offers them peace and happiness. Mazza, a Stellenbosch resident for many decades, has given women through Jen, a fighting chance to find happiness no matter the cost.
Despite the drama and debauchery between the pages, this book is above-all about forgiving, loving, making use of second chances that life provides and most importantly appreciating one’s self-happiness. The book is well-structured and easy to read, with sentences and chapters concise and straight to the point. Mazza has done a fantastic job in her first novel, which puts her under immense pressure to maintain or escalate her standard for her second book. I am expecting a sequel in the near future for this novel.
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