By Leigh Andrews

I always enjoy books set in South Africa as they seem that much easier to identify with and you can picture exactly where some of the action is set. Malak is not living a full life – her sister Amal disappeared many years ago but her family holds out hope that she will one day walk through the door. In the meantime, Malak has married Amal’s fiancé Taj and feels like a ‘stand in’ for when Amal returns and continues to be haunted by the disapproving spirit of their knitting Oma and her cat.

Following the grief of the disappearance, their parents have since split – their mother lives alone in a house near the spot where Amal vanished on the edge of the sea, creating quilts of remembrance for people in similar situations, while their father has remarried and had a succession of new daughters. It’s an interesting take on how people deal with grief and the ‘not knowing’ that comes from a case like this.

But the story is about much more than this. A few of my highlights: the storyline weaves in references to characters from Not a Fairytale. Amal and Taj can’t conceive, despite Taj being a fertility doctor. Taj’s cousin Precious lives next door to them and constantly comes over to eat and chat ... and eventually get advice on a plastic sex-doll girlfriend he would like to order. Malak and her neighbour, Rakel, co-own a store named Celestial Cupcakes, famous for its guardian angel cupcakes. Rakel drags Malak with her to take part in various crafty hobbies, the latest of which means Malak is writing a memoir to Amal, detailing life without her.

And then, to top it all, while making a barefoot cupcake delivery to a local hotel, Malak meets Darya. He falls instantly in love with her, she is a bit hesitant as she is already married and Muslim. Can she have two husbands? Does she even want to? But this love is true and Malak gives in, leading the cast of characters on a side route that eventually brings them to the truth – it seems Taj hasn’t been entirely truthful with Malak about quite a few things.

This was an utterly engrossing read. Lessons in Husbandry is published by Umuzi, an imprint of Random House Struik.