Why do you think Magona chooses not to name Biehl in the narrative itself? On the flipside, why do you think she chooses to distill all of Biehl's killers into a single, named character? Compare and contrast the way Magona depicts Mxolisi and the student, bearing these questions in mind.

Mandisa generally comes across as a confident and honest narrator, but there are moments when she seems torn or at odds with herself; speaking of Mxolisi, for example, she says at one point, "Did I hate my son? Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! How could you hate him?" (156). What purpose do these moments serve? How do they influence our understanding of Mandisa and/or Mxolisi?

Christianity plays a complex role in the novel; it is the religion Mandisa and her family practice, but it is also a religion that was brought to South Africa alongside colonialism. Thinking about both the novel's Christian characters and its allusions to Christianity, discuss Magona's treatment of religion.