Trinity Rising: Book Review

Trinity Rising is so much more than a book about student life at Rhodes University.

Trinity Luhabe may not be like anyone I knew during my student years there, but it was like reading someone else’s diary and being able to visualize precisely where she was going, what she was doing, and the types of people she was talking about.

I may not have set foot in the Rat & Parrot, but I know what the Vic was like – just as Trinity’s mother does… so I guess that puts me in around the same age range as the protagonist’s mom, but let’s not go there.

Trinity Luhabe is so over the struggle

Trinity Luhabe is not previously disadvantaged. Her father is the billionaire mining magnate Abel Luhabe, her mom is Sunet, who comes from an Afrikaans farming family and who spent her varsity days protesting against apartheid among other things.

As Trinity says from the start, “If I hear the word ‘struggle’ one more time, I swear I’m going to scream.”

Trinity, a former Miss Sandton, has passed Matric at an exclusive private school in Joburg and we meet her as she’s about to embark on her first year at Rhodes.

She leaves behind best friend Lael, who goes to UCT where she counts every calorie, as well as arch rival Sophie Agincourt… or so she thinks.

Trinity befriends the warm and brilliant Steph, and also Kealiboga who has an appetite for just about anything.

She develops a crush on her poetry tutor, Farouk, who’s from Durban, and spends most of her time trying to avoid him. Blind dates are a nightmare, but she does meet another best friend in the process, the not-yet-out-of-the-closet Tyson, who makes up the foursome that meets for brunch every Saturday.

Trinity's dramas unfold

Things don’t go as smoothly for Trinity as she would like. She spends the year going from one drama to the next… but you’ll have to read about those in the book.

Oh, and she’s the ultimate babysitter, which is how she earns her much-needed shopping money. Not spoilt, our Trinity.

Trinity Rising is about young adults today, not entirely removed from the young adults I remember from my own varsity days, but now they're facebooking, SMS’ing, wearing designer clothing, counting calories (at varsity?) and not protesting against much at all... though they're still coming up with any excuse to get an extension on assignments.

You may know someone just like Trinity Luhabe, which is why I think this local brand of chick lit is just what we need to lift the spirits right now.

I loved it – bring on the next one, Fiona.

Trinity Rising, by Fiona Snyckers (Jonathan Ball), is now available at bookstores. Recommended price R130.

Author info: Cindy Moritz

Cindy Moritz is All4Women's contributing editor based in Cape Town. She spent ten years in magazine publishing, and was editor of fashion business title Pursuit for most of that time. She went on to edit popular parenting title Cape Town's Child, drawing on her own experience as mother of two young children. Deciding to practise what she preached, after a couple of years Cindy gave up the office job to pursue that fine balance of work and life which freelancing offers, and after having features published in a number of local magazines including Elle, Longevity, Femina and Strictly Business, she discovered www.all4women.co.za and online publishing. She's never looked back.