Your word will find you, whether you can handle it or not.
Your word is loyal; it does not give up on you. It will stay with you until the end of your life. No one can take it from you — unless …
Each door at The Plex is painted a different colour. As Rafi Paterson soon realises, this is no ordinary suburban complex. Residents are urged to meditate, body corporate meetings take place in a dark warehouse, and the martial arts trainer from the end cottage offers to attack her to improve her self-defence skills.
What the hell?
Then the godsisters arrive for a two-week reunion in Cape Town: Elvi, the impeccable younger sister, and Bruna, the glamorous Italian who once lived with the Paterson family as an exchange student. When an art academic disappears after a party at The Plex, the godsisters turn to the sex diary found under Rafi’s bed for answers.
If you had the ability to avert a global disaster, would you step in — even if it meant never finding your way back?
Infused with subtle magic and sensual realism, The Which Word is a novel about selfhood, women’s bonds, and the dangerous power of language.
The Which Word is a difficult book to describe. It’s definitely unique, and I already know I’ll need to read it again to fully appreciate everything the story is doing.
Rafi moves into The Plex after breaking up with her boyfriend, expecting a fresh start. She soon realises that this is no ordinary suburban complex. Strange things start happening, the residents are anything but ordinary, and then an art academic disappears after a party. From there, things get even stranger.
Is this a horror? A thriller? Fantasy? Honestly, I’m still not entirely sure. Is it interesting? Very much so.
Rafi is such a likeable character, and experiencing everything through her eyes gives the story a sense of discovery. The rest of the cast is equally fascinating. They’re colourful, quirky and mysterious, and I often found myself wanting to know more about each of them.
What really stood out to me was the concept of your “word” finding you, a power that is uniquely yours and stays with you for life. I loved the idea of language having this kind of power, and the way the story explores selfhood, women’s bonds and the consequences of that power was really intriguing.
That said, I did find the story confusing at times. For much of the book, I wasn’t entirely sure where the story was going or how all the pieces were going to fit together. The writing itself is beautiful and atmospheric, but I sometimes felt like I was wandering through the story alongside Rafi without quite knowing what was around the next corner.
Ultimately, The Which Word is a strange, imaginative and thought-provoking read. I’m not sure I completely understood everything on my first go, but I think that might be the point. This is definitely a book I’d like to revisit because I suspect there’s a lot more to discover the second time around.
THE WHICH WORD is an exceptionally good read! The plot is exactly as the back of the book blurb describes. This is a story about sisterhood and self-discovery, about channeling your energy into a greater purpose. Catriona Ross has a wonderfully easy-going writing style that is a dream to sink into. She knows Cape Town intimately. The narrative uses the city's good and bad sides to good effect.
This is a modern tale of witchiness: don't expect to find any broomsticks. It hits all the right notes of community and magical awakening, though, to satisfy even the most stalwart traditionalist.
If anyone is reading the reviews because they're hesitant about the sexual content: Yes, there is a lot of explicit description but it never feels smutty (not that there's anything wrong with that!) THE WHICH WORD swings between clinical and lyrical as the character in question tries to understand her own body and catalogue her own physical reactions. It's an affirming discussion not just of sexuality but of how we talk about (or don't talk about) sex.
I requested and received a copy of THE WHICH WORD for review from Mirari Press.
To me, The Which Word is both a story about identity and self and a person's place in the world, and also how insignificant the human species is in the Grand Scheme of the universe.
So much is happening all the time, and the author manages to convey this with subplot among subplot between an over-arching mysterious disappearance, a sex diary of note and what starts it all, a separation and a break up.
The novel manages to incorporate sisterhood and feminism, new-age magic and traditional African mysticism, environmental awareness and a suburban complex filled with neighbours that know more than they realistically should, and all set under a backdrop of a Cape Town both familiar and not.
A great read overall, even if I wasn't able to solve all the power words - user error, I'm sure.
I'm not sure where I stand with this book. It is indeed sexy, as promised. It somehow feels like it could be a season of the American Horror Story if there was any space for hope in that show.
The one thing that kept throwing me off was how in specific parts the narrative switches to second person. I have to assume that the words were addressing the reader as much as Rafi, the main character, in those instances. I struggled with that a bit.
Rafi is at a crossroads in her life and she finds herself in Observatory at the Pleks discovering things about the Organization and herself while trying to solve a missing person mystery with her sisters Elvi and Bruna. Its a story of found love-of self and not through chasing a man, strong feminine energy and regulating your nervous system by finding your word of empowerment.
And of course, extracts from a sex diary.