The opening line of a book is almost as important as a film's opening scene. It not only sets the scene, however briefly, but it also piques the reader's interest - or turns us off. If there's one thing Mohale Mashigo's debut novel The Yearning has in common with Yewande Omotoso's latest, it's a great opener."My mother died seven times before she gave birth to me," declares Marubini, the protagonist in The Yearning.This sets the scene for a magical - although a little bit too short - story about a young woman battling her past and its reappearance in her present, distant life. But more on that later.Omotoso's opening line in The Woman Next Door - "The habit of walking was something Hortensia took up after Peter fell ill" - is an intriguing, although slightly depressing one (mortality is not the most fun of subjects, is it?). The Woman Next Door is many things - fun is not one of them.Omotoso skilfully weaves together a tale that is as much about the emotional state of two elderly women as it is about sociopolitics: the politics of economics, politics of location and the politics of race, of course.Set in Cape Town, the novel explores the relationship between two bitter neighbours with no love lost between them, Hortensia and Marion.Neither of the women is particularly likable, which is refreshing because too often in battles between two people, a "good guy" and a "bad guy" are forced on the readers.This time there is no such clear distinction, which makes it a far more realistic - and sobering - read because human beings can sometimes show their worst selves to those around them.Can past suffering ever be used as a means to justify our current behaviour? Perhaps, perhaps not. In the end it's up to the reader to decide.In contrast to the stark, almost everyday reality of The Woman Next Door, The Yearning explores a different kind of reality: one in which a character struggles to reconcile what's happening in her present in relation to events that have taken place in her past.To say that Marubini's past is haunting her is a rather lazy way to look at Mashigo's debut: this is about so much more than that.This is about family, what they teach us and more importantly, what they pass down to us. It's about forging our own path versus fighting against one that's been predetermined for us.Is destiny more important and more powerful than our choices? And what impact does that have on our present lives and those around us?The Yearning is a beautiful, almost poetic exploration of African spirituality and belonging.I strongly recommend you buy both books. You won't regret it.The Yearning by Mohale Mashigo, published by Pan Macmillan, R260. The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso, published by Penguin Random House, R305..