In Black Diamond, Zakes Mda tackles every conceivable South African stereotype, skilfully (and with the lightest touch) turning them upside down and exposing their ironies, often hilariously.

Black Diamond Queens Duke University Press - Black Diamond Queens

Also, I would have been fine with fewer details regarding some of the information around the battle of the coal unions. What joins this story is how in the period of the decline of aristocratic values some people follow a higher standard and others do not -- and it is beautifully demonstrated how this has nothing to do with neither class nor upbringing nor fortune, and everything with the innate generosity in a soul. The Kennedys had no problem with that but they were bunged out by their daughter marrying outside their superstition? For some reason, the rural culture and people settings of he other books were more interesting to me and moved me more. Maybe it was not written for South Africans, I can vaguely picture someone who has no clue of how life actually is in South Africa picking this up and enjoying it.To make matters worse Bailey seems to have had more than a little trouble determining the exact scope of her work. Perhaps the story is indicative of life in South Africa, but I would like to believe that there is beauty in South Africa, and none of that is evidenced in this novel.

Black Diamond Rings - Diamonds Factory Black Diamond Rings - Diamonds Factory

For example later in the book we get just a couple pages on Peter’s marriage to Obby, it comes very suddenly and is barely touched on before moving on somewhere else. Well, I've never seen Downton Abbey, but all the reviewers say that if you're a fan, you'll enjoy this book. But it is preceded by a description of the king's arrival which would be more appropriate to the beginning of a short story in Lady's Home Journal.I really enjoyed reading a book set in modern Johannesburg, and some of the weirdness was arguably just adding a South African flavour (the homophobia, the use of "must" instead of "should"), but the plot was silly and there is no depth to any of the characters. Except for the discursions on Kick Kennedy, the book presents the information in a well laid out and concise fashion. She takes great liberties assuming the reader is already familiar with the family and entirely omits the early chapters of their history without so much as a footnote of explanation. The side stories about interesting characters and lives (including a very long segment on a member of the Kennedy family) that might have in some way connected to the core family weren't uninteresting, I just often wondered why I was reading about them. And for all their wealth, miniscule understanding of health or cure for nearly anything that ailed them.

Black Diamonds: What You Need to Know - GIA 4Cs Black Diamonds: What You Need to Know - GIA 4Cs

I loved reading about the rich and famous of the British aristocracy, anything with the worlds elite is always interesting since it’s out of the realm of everyday life. The book spends altogether too much time discussing Ms Kennedy's history and her relationship with Peter (about 100 pages!The whole business of black people hating and being afraid of cats is so tired and old, I am so over it! However, if Julian Fellowes were more honest, he'd let viewers know that, in all probability, their large income was derived from coal just as it was for the Carnavon family in whose Highclere Castle the show is set. The reading room is generally for non-circulatory material - that is, material that may only be viewed in a reading room. I can't remember why I got this book from the library - I think another goodreader mentioned it in a review and it sounded interesting.