If You Want To Make God Laugh (Book Review)

If You Want To Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais

For those of you that have no interest in sticking with my rambling – here’s the gist. This book has landed in my top 5 of all time and it’s not the style I gravitate towards. And - The only other writer I can immediately think of that writes this beautifully without the poetry of it all getting in the way of the ease of reading is Fredrick Backman. So, if you love him, you love Bianca’s If You Want To Make God Laugh.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit that this is the first book I’ve read by Bianca Marais, despite being a huge fan for the last few years because of her podcast and creative writing courses. I avoided reading her first two novels because they both sounded very heavy, were not in the genres I prefer but mostly – if I’m honest – what if I’d built her up in my head and her writing wasn’t as fantastic as I expected with all I’ve learned from her these past two years?

Welp, she MORE than proved me wrong. I almost never feel the need to underline (or more accurately pause an audiobook to write down a line) I think must be shared with my fellow writers. One hour in and I had to tell myself to stop pausing or I’d never get through the book. Plus, I listen when I’m driving, at the gym, doing chores, or out walking Bucky – so it wasn’t exactly convenient to begin with. So, I’ve done something else I’ve never done – ordered a hard copy of a book I already audio’ed. My TBR list is too long to be re-reading, but I have got to revisit these words and pray I glean a tiny fraction of the skill for my own work.

1. Is it miserably serious or major political or preachy considering it’s set in the turmoil of South Africa right when Nelson Mandela is elected and dealing with issues of apartheid that most Americans know very little about? Not. At. All. I know very little about South Africa other than it being a place I’d like to visit, so I worried my ignorance of the setting and history would make it difficult for me to connect with. Bianca weaves in so much through the character’s experiences that I felt fully immersed in the lives of the three main characters.

2. If there’s no mystery to solve what will keep me turning the page. For once, I’ll be brief. PLENTY.

3. You’re saying the writing is so beautiful you want to buy the book just to underline it – won’t I get bored from all the flowery language? It’s not flowery, it’s just simple perfect and quite easy to read. There’s no pompousness in it, just elegant execution. Some are funny and some go so deep with the simplest notions and words – you’ll be pleasantly swept away.

A few more details about the actual book itself ... I won’t say much about the characters for fear of spoilers and the odd feeling I’d be talking about my new friends behind their back but here’s a quick taste of the 3 POVs.

Ruth – A strong-willed white ex-stripper is given something she’s always wanted right after losing everything and must fight for it against at least five powerful forces in her life. (Actual forces, this isn’t sci-fi. LOL)

Delilah – A white ex-communicated nun and lifetime aid worker returns home to face a secret love only to have everything she’s ever avoided poke her from every angle.

And last but probably the strongest and best character – Zodwa – A young black teenager whose pregnancy will forever change the lives of everyone around her in ways she could never have imagined as she fights for everything the world says she can’t have because she’s black and poor. She makes impossible sacrifices and decisions proving to be the best of all the characters for her strength, heart and selfless love of her child.

Bottom line - read this damn book. And the narrators are so good, I recommend the audio for sure!

BTW - I write these because I love books and read about five or more a month between physical books and audiobooks so I'm always epically behind on reviewing. So please excuse the so-so writing. I save all that effort for my novel.

Also, the fabulous podcast I refer to is The Shit No One Tells You About Writing #TSNOTYAW And here's Bianca's site for more info: https://www.biancamarais.com/

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