However, no concrete steps are ever taken towards that liberation even after such a rallying moment. They even cry together to express this pain and all three characters recognize the need to free themselves from this cycle. Treasure, Aria, and Daphne all recognize that they have been physically, emotionally, or financially abused by Tim Morgan. This hinders the overall writing style because it leaves the reader experiencing a lot of loose ends.įor example, the theme of female solidarity against male domination in the context of shared trauma seems to be picked up and discarded in a haphazard manner.

The book gets so caught up in painting a finely-detailed scene across each chapter that crucial moments in the plot are lost in a pool of less significant details. However, the strength of this approach carries with it a few pitfalls. Most South African readers who will purchase this book will be exposed to new worlds and new words. The novel criticizes the Blesser/Blessee culture and more importantly the socio-economic circumstances that feed this culture of transactional relationships based on unequal power relations.Īs an experienced author with 3 books to her name Jackie Phamotse’s Bare: the cradle of the hockey club is an exhibition of her descriptive powers. It is the story of Treasure Mohapi and her entanglement with Tim Morgan, a key figure in a human trafficking and organ trafficking organisation based in South Africa’s suburbs which targets vulnerable and ambitious young South African women. Bare: the cradle of the hockey club is a 407-page work of fiction published in 2019.

Jackie phamotse hockey club