One Big Beautiful Mess

By Shona Claudinah

December in Alexandra doesn't arrive quietly; it arrives with a flourish.

When Thabo brings his white, pregnant girlfriend home for Christmas, Mama Dineo's house becomes ground zero for everything that has been buried, avoided, and whispered about for years. Old wounds reopen. New bonds form. A long-lost daughter appears without warning. Neighbours arrive without invitation. And the township does what it does best: it gathers, gossips, laughs, argues, eats, dances, and survives.

Set over one unforgettable festive season, One Big Beautiful Mess: A Ho Ho Ho Holiday in Alexandra is a warm, funny, and deeply human story about family, the kind you're born into and the kind that shows up anyway. From burning tyres and loud Amapiano to quiet kitchen conversations and borrowed silence after the noise fades, this novel captures the heartbeat of kasi life with honesty and love.

Mama Dineo, sharp-tongued yet tender, holds her household together as it expands beyond her expectations. Her children must confront who they are, where they come from, and what it means to belong. As Christmas turns into New Year, laughter fills the house even when money runs out, secrets surface, and life prepares to move on.

Messy. Loud. Unfiltered. Tender.

This is a story about home, not as a place, but as a feeling that refuses to leave. About choosing each other again and again, even when it's complicated. Even when it's noisy. Even when it's one big, beautiful mess.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GC9M311P
• ISBN13: 9798233655289
• Release Date: December 2025
• Publisher: Shona Claudinah
• Length: 88 Pages
• Weight: 0.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"