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Boeke / Book
Kom slag 'n bees
(Many of the stories in this collection have been translated and are now available inRites of the Ox.)
Wanneer daar bees geslag word, word daar ook feesgevier, dit maak nie saak of in die hartjie van KwaZulul-Natal sit, of iewers op 'n Afrikaanse plaas nie. Afrikaners en ander Afrikane raak jolig as die vleis braai en die vuurwater skop. Dan waai die klere en die vere!
Dis lekkerlees stories die, maar daar is duidelike intertekste na hulle wat voor my die Afrikaanse letterkunde gepleeg het.
Byna Liefde
(Love stories. Falling in love, being in love, getting married, being married, loving a spouse, sharing a spouse, losing loved ones … All these things that happen to people, happen in this collection. Some of these stories have been translated and appear in Rites of the ox.)
Dis lekker om verhale oor die liefde te skryf. Die meeste van ons het al liefgehad, het al geluk gesmaak en het selfs al 'n bietjie seergekry.
Hierdie bundel ondersoek wel kalwerliefde, maar die verhale kyk verder. Die verhale vra: "Wat gebeur na die troue? Hoe blý jy lief vir die mens met wie jy getrou het?"
Soms is dit maklik om lank en gelukkig saam te leef, soms is dit 'n uitdaging.
Dis 'n eerlike kykie na die liefde hierdie. Nie alle liefdes word outomaties gelyk aan 2,2 kinders en 'n huislening nie. Maar, sê die verhale, as jy kreatief werk aan jou verhouding met jou geliefdes, dan word die liefde 'n viering en 'n seëvierende triomf.
Dit is 'n baie positiewe bundel dié, al spreek ons heelwat kwessies aan wat handel oor die uitdagings wat mense in die oë staar wanneer hulle in verhoudings is.
Lees dit as jy geprikkel wil word, uitgedaag wil word en, bowenal, as jy glo in die liefde!
Waar kom die titel vandaan, wonder julle dalk? Wel, een van die karakters sê sy verkies die liefde in die ware lewe, nie die liefde in stories nie. Verhale oor die liefde sal altyd net "byna liefde" wees, ware liefde vind jy in die arms van 'n geliefde!
Special days / Spesiale dae
This delightful little book must be one of the most fulfilling and most challenging I have ever worked on. It is lavishly illustrated by one of the greatest and most enduring South African illustrators, Alida Bothma. (Much credit for the success of this publication should also go to Jean Reid and Johan van Lill who worked hard to get the book through its various stages.)
There are two books with the same title: A HUGE book more than half a metre tall for the teacher and a smaller one for the younger reader.
The title says it all, it deals with specials days. We see the various celebrations through the eyes of the interpret photographer, Cameron Cameraman.
The following are tiny bits of detail from Alida's sketches, but one has to see them in full to appreciate their beauty. I grew up reading books with her sketches in them, so when I was asked to provide her with art briefs, it was a bit like sending an email to God. Even when those first very rough black and white sketches came back to me, her genius was visible. She read the text just as I had imagined it!
The book covers the following celebrations:
| The Chinese New Year |  |
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The Jewish Pesag |
| The Hindu's Diwali |  |
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An African Ancestral commemoration |
| Islam's Eid-ul-Fitr |  |
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A Christian Christmas |
| The Western New Year |  |
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And Cameron's Birthday! |
Rites of the ox
Translated by DZ van der Berg
Slaughtering an ox means it is party time!
Whether in the heart of Afrikaner culture, or in the spirit-world of the African continent, the rites of slaughtering and feasting go hand in hand with joyous celebrations and thanksgiving.
Rites of the Ox is a collection of short stories that are sexy, funny and, at times, sad. They explore the journeys of the heart, the footpaths of religion and the mystical ways of love.
These stories are about people who love and who want to be loved.
The stories in the first half are translations Kom slag 'n bees. The rest are newer works, many of them appear in Byna liefde.