Just before Maren Bodenstein's mother died she revealed that she had had a love affair, and that her fourth child was her ex-lover's daughter. As punishment, she had been made to sit on the Hermannsburg church’s Sinners’ Bench for two weeks.

In this memoir Bodenstein situates her family story within the history of Hermannsburg, KwaZulu Natal, established by the Hermannsburg Missionary Society in 1884, and the German Lutheran diaspora in South Africa.

"In this richly detailed memoir, Maren Bodestein tells the tory of a complicated family with a secret at its heart. Whether capturing the inner world of a young child in a mission village or traversing the complex emotional terrain of ageing, she writes with insight and precision, with a sense of wonder but no trace of sentimentality. This is a lovely book that brings new worlds into view." Ivan Vladislaviç, author and Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing, University of the Witwatersrand

"The Sinners’ Bench weaves an artful tapestry of the arrival of German missionary families in South Africa and the stories of succeeding generations. It is radiant with history, humour, and poignancy, all captured with delightful obliquity. I have not read a family memoir with greater enjoyment." Michael Titlestad, Professor, Department of English, University of the Witswatersran

Maren Bodenstein is the author of the novel Shooting Snakes (2012). She lives in Johannesburg and works as an editor, writing coach and gardener.