A Beautiful Family: a startling tale of family abuse in South Africa’s wealthy suburbs.

Announcing the July 2014 release of a debut novel by former journalist Marilyn Cohen de Villiers that lifts the lid on a hidden side of family abuse in South Africa.

South Africa has been dubbed the rape and child abuse capital of the world. Every year in South Africa, there’s a Sixteen Days of Violence against Women and Children campaign that highlights this scourge, as do innumerable discussions and articles in the media. Several current high profile cases – think Oscar Pistorius and Shrien Dewani – have raised international awareness about a phenomenon dubbed IPV (Intimate Partner Violence).

However, most people regard these tragedies as aberrations. The “other kind” of IPV – the kind that involves long-term abuse - is generally regarded as being confined to deprived communities. We all “know” that incest, wife battering, rape and general abuse are a consequence of poverty, overcrowding, lack of education and poor social infrastructure. Things “like that” just don’t happen in the leafy suburbs – and certainly not within the close-knit, middle-class Jewish community. Do they?

In her hard hitting, fast paced, easy-to-read family saga, Marilyn Cohen de Villiers takes us behind the facade of the beautiful, wealthy, admired Silvermans and into the psyche of the abused as well as the abuser. The novel also examines the reaction of the community to the realisation that “one of us” could do “things like that”.

Set against the backdrop of South Africa’s march to democracy and beyond, the novel spans 40 years and three countries (South Africa, Israel and England). The story is recounted through the flawed perspectives of seven characters: Brenda and Alan Silverman and their children Yair and Aviva; as well as anti-Apartheid activist Annette Davies; British millionaire Ben Shapiro; and Johannesburg newspaper reporter Tracy Jacobs.

For more information about A Beautiful Family, visit the author’s Facebook fan page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marilyn-Cohen-de-Villiers; or blog: http://marilyncohendevilliers.wordpress.com/. The  website, www.marilyncohendevilliers.co.za is still under construction.

About Marilyn Cohen de Villiers

Marilyn Cohen de Villiers (57) was born and raised in Johannesburg’s middle-class northern suburbs, the youngest daughter of an extraordinarily ordinary, happy, stable, traditional (rather than observant) Jewish family.  After matriculating at Northview High (a government school), she went to Rhodes University in Grahamstown where she completed a B. Journalism degree. This was followed by a “totally useless” - according to her parents - Honours degree in English Literature (first class), also at Rhodes.

After backpacking through Europe, she started her career as a reporter on a daily newspaper at the dawning of the turbulent 1980s. During this period, she interviewed, among others, Frank Sinatra, Jeffrey Archer, right-wing extremist Eugene Terre’blanche and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. She caught crocodiles; avoided rocks and tear smoke canisters in various South African townships; stayed awake through interminable city council meetings and criminal and civil court cases - and learned to interpret balance sheets and understand economic jargon. She also married - and 31 years later remains happily married to - her news editor (now retired), Poen de Villiers.

After the birth of their two daughters, Marilyn ‘crossed over’ into Public Relations. Her writing - articles, media releases, opinion and thought leadership pieces  and so on – continues to be published regularly in South African newspapers and other media, usually under someone else’s by-line.

The unexpected death of a childhood friend and colleague in 2011 spurred her to take stock of her life. A few months later, she started writing A Beautiful Family. She is now working hard on her second novel, When Times Fails.

Publication Detail

Title
A Beautiful Family
Author
Marilyn Cohen de Villiers
Publisher
Reach Publishers
Distributor
AG Distribution
Format
Paperback
ISBN
978-0-620-59647-3
Page Extent
506

 Purchase Link
Amazon