My Cleaner by Maggie Gee - Book Review

Maggie Gee novel My Cleaner explores racism with starkness without being loud. The racism is very subtle, the kind seen in the middle class society, nothing is said on the face but the discrimination exists. The story is set in Uganda and an elegant house in affluent West London, that of a white lady, Venessa Henman. This story is about the power struggle between two women, it is written in such a gossipy style and with such ease that it can pass of as a script for TV soaps. Vanessa Henman is a neurotic, middle-aged writer from comfortable middle class. She has a despised painter and decorator for an ex- husband, Trevor and a depressed 22-year old for a son, so depresses that he would not even get out of bed, Justin. The only person Justin wants to see is Mary Tendo, the Ugandan cleaner who took care of him through most of his childhood when his mother was too busy in her study to spend any time with him. It is then that Venessa writes to Mary who is then in Uganda and calls her back to take care of her son. Mary who once worked as a young teenager at their place returns as an assertive and I-know-what-I-want black lady. In Mary’s second innings as a maid she bestrides the house like a colossus, taking control of Justin's life, commandeering the kitchen, not troubling to hide her feelings about Vanessa and thanking God every day that she is an African woman. This is too much for Vanessa to take, although she is determined that she would treat Mary as an equal this time round. Power balance soon shifts at home and everyone's life begins to change irrevocably.


Maggie Gee gives an insight into both the women’s life. Mary Tendo is a graduate but being a Black African puts her in the back seat, she is a well-traveled and street smart lady though. Vanessa is a well-bred woman fighting age and trying to come to terms with her ill son on one hand and his attachment for Mary on the other. There domestic situation at home has racist tones to it, Venessa speaks about how she feels when her son sings African songs, she feels like she has an African boy at home. She rebuffs Mary and gives her an English rhymes tape and asks her to tutor it to Justin. Gee brilliantly uses the clash between the two women as a way of exploring not only class and cultural conflict, not just racism. More than once, Vanessa brings to mind Jane Austen's Emma in her ability to delude herself and ignore the blindingly obvious. Justin's depression does not run in the family, Vanessa tells us: 'Not on my side, at least. Just my mother's brother who killed himself. Admittedly, my mother was sometimes unwell, but she never actually stayed in bed. Once or twice, she went away to hospital'.


On the surface, Mary and Vanessa are polar opposites: Vanessa is pale and bony, and cooks soft, white, pre-prepared food; Mary is dark and voluptuous and steams up the kitchen with vast meals made from huge, earthy vegetables and great slabs of meat. Vanessa is mean, self-obsessed and closed-off. She forbids Justin the white bread he craves. Mary is generous, outgoing, gregarious and feeds the boy forbidden jam sandwiches. Yet at heart, we realize they are not so very different. The novel is rendered in alternative voices of both Mary and Vanessa as they talk about their lives and their loved ones. The altering narratives make a very nice read. The writer’s style is gossipy, warm and rhythmic.