A Family Affair

Shortlisted for the University of Johannesburg Prize for South African Writing in English (2021 Main Prize)

Longlisted for the NIHSS Awards Fiction Prize

From the writer of the Netflix series The Polygamist.

Family is complicated…

Meet the Mafus, a close-knit, traditional family with three daughters. As leaders of their church, The Kingdom of God, Pastor Abraham and his wife, Phumla, guide the Bulawayo community in faith while struggling to keep the many branches of their own family together.

Independent and strong-willed Xoliswa returns home after spending time abroad, hoping for a fresh start and an opportunity to lead the family business. Rebellious Yandisa has finally found the love of her life and appears to be getting her life on track. Meanwhile, dutiful newlywed Zandile begins to question the happily-ever-after she thought she had found.

The Mafus always present a united front, but as their personal lives begin to unravel, long-buried secrets emerge that threaten to tear the family apart. How long can they continue to hide behind the façade of a picture-perfect family?