There Are Ants in My Sugar

by Annica Foxcroft

This is the warm hearted, engaging and humorous account of Annica Foxcroft's exile to a pondokkie in the country, when unexpected financial hardship overtook her family during the 1960s.

Annica is a sassy young woman to whom the city chic of Johannesburg, and the dire warnings of her decorator friend Harry, still cling like French perfume, as she is dumped unceremoniously on a plot in the dark, landing on a pile of blackjacks. She has to adapt and make a home for her baby daughter and aging husband amidst boreholes, long drops and Aga stoves.

She comes to terms with her neighbours, Joshua, a practising Sangoma, and Ben, a Jewish pig farmer; is educated in the ways of the Practical by her indomitable maid May; and comes of age through her determined efforts to create things of beauty amidst the khakibos - a lawn and poetry. She even restores the family fortune by engaging in a lucrative and uniquely South African venture.

Genres: Book Club

275 pages, Paperback

First published January 2, 2007

Reviews

[Debi · Rating 5 out of 5]

You have to be South African to appreciate this book and you will love it even more if you are slightly older.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars)

Although I did not "howl with laughter" while I was reading this book, I did have a few good laughs. May is such a great character and absolutely made the story for me. I admired Annica's nerves-of-steel as I undoubtedly wouldn't have survived in the bushveld the way she did. This is a read I would mostly recommend for South African readers.

[Janine · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I truly, desperately, wanted to like this book there were too many aspects of the novel that made this task seemingly impossible for me. For one, the font and size of the writing was completely off-putting, while it seems like such a superficial issue, it still bothered me the entire time. I also found myself unconsciously trying to wipe the 'ants' off the pages I was reading - yes, silly, but still, distracting. The footnotes and italic words were completely unnecessary and I found myself stopping mid sentence; even if I understood the context of the word being translated/described - in this case a glossary was the only thing needed. I felt the book was written in a more contemporary way and was thus set too early, the sixties, and should have been set later, possibly the eighties, when cultural animosity and misunderstandings were still abound; but the modernity of the story would not have felt out of place. While at times the writing was lyrical and almost poetic, I felt that Foxcroft had got a hold of a thesaurus and used words that, while still understandable, seemed to be misused and unnecessary. The editing of this book was a little lackluster. My final issue lay in the story line - I did not expect anything more than a coming of age story about a young woman placed out of her element in a world she did not completely understand. However the final reveal, a randomly placed mystery, left me feeling cheated - this plot should have had a bigger role and climax, and the reveal not left for the last two chapters, or it should not have been included at all with the characters bonding over something else, like the compost business.

Recommended by my mother; bought from St Mikes Book Exchange (Shelly Beach; KwaZulu Natal).

[Marion Roux · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had been wanting to read this for many years. When I found a copy and got to read it, I was somewhat disappointed as it just didn't live up to my expectations. I felt my own first years on our farm were more exciting and varied!

[Yvette · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this era that we live I think of fondness back to my youth ...the good times. As I grew up in a small town and farm I can relate to the characters .To visit the city was amazing and a culture shock. Reading makes you a world traveller and a time traveller and experience the world.

[Alan Menachemson]

not brilliant but I had to give a 5* because its so damn nice. Funny, happy, predictable, fun. and in Johannesburg, of course. Highly recommended (and some good herbal suggestions)

[Hazel]

dnf

[Etynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilariously good read for those who have an understanding of life in South Africa with its many cultures and classes.

[Shivaani Pillay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious read! Most entertaining insight into life on a plaas during Apartheid. May is probably my favourite character, her mixture of Afrikaans and English feels like home😂

[Duzzlebrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very simple, but very warm and sweet story, set on a farm in the middle of rural nowhere. The lightheartedness begins when the receptionist of the removal company answers the phone by singing "Vat jou goed en trek, Ferreira," and that bizarre start sets the tone for the whole book.

I wonder, though, what the thinking was behind giving every single non-English word a translation in a footnote. Surely this is going to be read overwhelmingly by S'theffricans?

[Teneille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant South Afican book.
Set in the 1960's, Annica, her husband and daughter have to move to the country due to financial hardship.
Being South African, I was laughing out loud through most of the book.

[Shayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me laugh so much. It was hilarious and could have been my life. A Cape Town chicked dumped in the boonies of the Eastern Cape (that's me), so I identified with so much in this book. Absolutely loved it.

[Deborah]

Very funny. An interesting view into the apartheid period and the complexity of black and white relationships during that period.

[Tracy Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming and hilarious!

[Ntebaleng Molewa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like this book one bit. I thought it was extremely boring!

[Diane V-R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Full of humour and charm. Great South African writing.

[Ellen Leijenaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining!

[Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightfull book. May, the kitchen help, is the star of the whole story.