WHAT’S WRONG WITH JUNE?

Author: Qarnita Loxton

Publisher: Kwela Books

Reviewer: Nancy Richards

For me Qarnita Loxton’s books are like breaths of fresh air. After some fatter, more dense and demanding recent reads, I launched into What’s Wrong with June? with joy – lungs wide open. Not that her books are light or slight, in fact they do demand of you to think quite reflectively about your own actions and judgements. I won’t list all those in her earlier ‘Being’ books – Shelley, Kari, Dianne and Lily – but each of them, and this one, although not in the series, touches on an ‘issue’ or collection of ‘issues’ that makes you feel that Qarnita’s career experience was not wasted. She did her time as an attorney, but I would say certainly picked up a thing or two studying psychology, and undoubtedly made some close observations as a coaching executive. But it’s her empathy that makes her such an appealing writer.

I don’t know if she knows an absolutely real life ‘June’ – the dependable 40 something wife and mum who has just ‘had it’ with looking after a netflixing husband and princess-daddy’s-girl daughter as well as appeasing the rest of her ‘Big Family’ on WhatsApp and in the flesh, who does a ‘Shirley Valentine’ and hops off to Mauritius to spend time with her bestie – but if she doesn’t she sure has been listening to her friends. Who could, or would, judge someone who does that? Who’s to say how much a girl should or shouldn’t put up with if other people’s behaviour, or lack of it, is stressing her out to distraction – not to say limiting her very being, never mind being happy?

So there are lots of questions here – what would YOU have done? How would you handle the unhappy, and extended family? Would you or wouldn’t you submit to the dark-blue-eyed stranger? And would you or wouldn’t you dive with the dolphins in the deep when you’ve only just learnt to swim? And what for you, would constitute a happy ending? And the only way to find out, is to read the book and decide for yourself.