Book: The Blessed Girl
Author: Angela Makholwa
Year of Publication: 2019
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Almost all societies have them, women who drive fast cars, wear the chicest outfits, live in the most expensive homes in the choicest parts of the city, all without a commensurate source of income. A little probing will reveal that some of these women are able to live their flashy lives because of their symbiotic relationships with wealthy elderly men who foot the bills. The more elderly men the better. In Nigeria, women in these relationships are called ‘Small Girls Big God’, but in South Africa where this novel is based, they are said to belong to a ‘Blesser-Blessee’ relationship. The wealthy elderly and most times married man is the ‘blesser’ while the younger lady benefiting from the man’s largesse is the ‘blessee’. And all you need to be a blessee is to be beautiful, and street smart. Or is it?
Based in Johannesburg, South Africa, The Blessed Girl tells the story of Bontle, a twenty-four sorry twenty-eight-year-old lady who believes her above-average good looks is all she needs to live the comfortable life of her dreams. On page 1 of the book, Bontle said:
“People don’t understand that when you’re beautiful, the sun orbits around your world instead of the other way around. If I were given the option to spend a lifetime as Albert Einstein or as Marilyn Monroe, I’d choose Monroe every time, drugs and all. In spite of some bad choices, she still had a much better quality of life. I love girls who know how to make the most of their looks. Marilyn Monroe was the original blessee – and you can quote me on that.”
With this philosophy and putting in the necessary efforts, Bontle acquired most of the material comforts she needed – a convertible Mercedes Benz, a penthouse, occasional local and international trips, Louboutins, Brazilian weaves, designer wears, and a social media ‘influencer’ status. At just twenty-eight years, she had more possessions than her old classmates and friends running after degrees and diplomas. But the blesser-blessee relationship was not without its risks and regrets, which Bontle came to find out first-hand.
This is my first time reading Makholwa and I think she did a great job with the book in general and with Bontle’s character in particular. Far from painting Bontle as an empty-headed bimbo with no ambition, Makholwa showed us a woman who was quoting from Malcolm Gladwell, and touting Donald Trump as her hero in one minute and who in the next minute was worried about anal bleaching, vaginal bleaching and posting fake trips so that her Instagram followers don’t suspect she is broke. There was also the Bontle who went into depression because of her brother’s foray into drugs, and the one who executed a perfect plan to steal a friend’s blesser. The Bontle that said she is twenty-four and owned a penthouse in the first chapter, only to tell us further on that she’s twenty-eight and the penthouse was not fully paid for yet. It was the same Bontle that didn’t reveal she was married till a while later in the story. The Bontle who was running a hair business and who also wanted to run a boutique. The Bontle who had little qualms sleeping with her Aunt’s husband and the one who helped restore a blesser’s relationship with his wife. Different shades of the same person, all beautifully woven by the author.
One thing that makes this a delightful read is Bontle’s persona. Yes, she was irreverent, greedy, amoral, promiscuous, etc., still she spoke of her actions and attendant repercussions bluntly, in a ‘so I did it and what are you going to do about it?’ manner. Her joie de vivre came off the pages of the book. Kudos to the author.
Amidst the humour, Makholwa was able to address sensitive issues like child prostitution, drug abuse, HIV, infidelity, deceptive social media appearances and so on. And she kept us guessing to the end if Bontle would get her ‘dream blesser’, the man that would be the answer to all her financial woes, a man like Mr Emmanuel from Nigeria.
I did not like some part of the ending because I felt it was a wee bit cliché, but I definitely liked the re-ignited romance between Bontle and her husband.
Reviewed by Oriyomi Adebare
Bio: Oriyomi Adebare is a writer, editor and a volunteer with OPTG Africa. She can be reached here.