Chanda's Secrets

Allison Sivak is a librarian in the Science and Technology Library at
the University of Alberta.

Chanda Kabelo, a smart and rebellious 16-year-old, is fiercely
protective of her mother and younger siblings, especially since her
stepfather is an alcoholic and a philanderer. Chanda’s father and
older brothers were killed in a mining accident, and her family has had
to move from their home in Bonang (a small fictional village in Africa)
to a shantytown in a large city in order to scrape together a living.
Hanging over their struggle for survival is the spectre of AIDS, which
carries with it such shame that it is barely spoken of. But the dreaded
disease soon strikes. Chanda’s mother’s extreme weight loss and
weakness indicate that she is sick, and Esther, Chanda’s best
friend—who, it is gradually revealed, is a prostitute—also contracts
it.

From the beginning of this harsh but hopeful novel, Chanda’s family
problems compound one another: the story opens with the young teen
selecting a coffin for her toddler sister, Sara, who has just died.
Chanda and her siblings have different fathers, and her mother is looked
on with scorn by many. Even Chanda’s parents’ marriage was frowned
on because her father was supposed to have married Chanda’s aunt, but
chose her mother instead, marrying for love and causing a deep family
rift. Chanda deals with the problems of her family and friend with
extraordinary courage, which at times reads unrealistically because of
the unbelievable obstacles she must overcome. Nevertheless, the
narrative flow is compelling, and characterization overall is quite
strong. Especially powerful is Stratton’s depiction of the current
atmosphere in AIDS-stricken Africa—the stigmatization and terror that
accompany the disease, and the resulting problems such a situation
creates. By the end, Chanda’s Secrets is as much about poverty,
women’s rights, and family relationships as it is about AIDS, which is
a fine achievement. Recommended.