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Die Ander Marta’ Tref Dit Die Leser Dat Die Boek Veel Meer As Iewers Onder Pyn, Ontgogeling, Onbegrip En Net Nog ’N Verhaal Bied

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Die Ander Marta’ Tref Dit Die Leser Dat Die Boek Veel Meer As Iewers Onder Pyn, Ontgogeling, Onbegrip En Net Nog ’N Verhaal Bied BOOKWORLD and illustrated by Margaret Atwood.- Totem *“The Labrador fiasco”.- Bloomsbury, 1996. *Curious pursuits.- Virago, 2005. Books (Canada), 1987. Alias Grace.- Bloomsbury, 1996. *The penelopiad; the myth of Penelope and *Interlunar.- Cape, 1988. *The selected poetry of Gwendolyn Odysseus.- Canongate, 2005. Cat’s eye.- Virago, 1990. MacEwen / selected and introduced by *The best American short stories, 1989: Margaret Atwood.- Virago, 1996. Note: selected from U.S. and Canadian magazines *A quiet game: and other early works.- *Titles not in Provincial Library Service stock. / with Shannon Ravenel.- Houghton Mifflin Juvenilia Press (Canada), 1997. Titles may still be on order. (USA), 1989. *The journals of Susanna Moodie.- *Barbed lyres: Canadian venomous verse.- Bloomsbury, 1997. Web site sources Key Porter (Canada), 1990. *Eating fire: selected poetry, 1965-1995.- http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/at- For the birds.- Douglas & McIntyre Virago, 1998. wood/write.htm (Canada), 1990. The blind assassin.- Bloomsbury, 2000. http://www.encyclopedia.com/html.a/atwood- *Selected poems: 1966-1984.- Oxford Negotiating with the dead: a writer on m1.asp University Press (Canada), 1990. writing.- Cambridge U.P., 2002. http://www.contemporarywriters.com/au- Wilderness tips.- Virago, 1992. Oryx and Crake.- Bloomsbury, 2003. thors/…… Good bones.- Virago, 1993. Rude Ramsay and the roaring radishes.- Selected poems: poems selected and new Bloomsbury, 2005. 1976-1986.- Houghton Mifflin, 1987. *The poetry of Gwendolyn MacEwen: the early years. Volume one.- Exile Editions (Canada), 1993. Die ander The robber bride.- Bloomsbury, 1993. *Beyond the map: poems by Diane Ackerman, Margaret Atwood, et alia.- The Marta Elm Press (USA), 1994. *The poetry of Gwendolyn MacEwen: the later years. Volume two.- Exile Editions 'n Boekbespreking (Canada), 1994. *Morning in the burned house.- Virago, 1995. ELSA DU PREEZ Princess Prunella and the purple peanut.- Barefoot Books, 1995. Carlitzdorp Leeskring *Strange things: the malevolent north in Op ’n dag, toe alles te veel raak, los Marta Canadian literature.- Clarendon Press, 1995. et die eerste vlugtige lees van die roman dink ’n mens hierdie is net vir Hendrik in die supermark, klim in haar The new Oxford book of Canadian short motor en ry weg. By die koue Weskussee stories in English / selected by Margaret Mnog ’n Afrikaanse boek wat wil-wil aangekom, probeer sy selfmoord pleeg, maar Atwood and Robert Weaver.- Oxford Univ. herinner aan dié van ’n ander skryfster nie eens die seewater wil haar hê nie. Pr., 1995. ’n paar dekades gelede. Die jong onder- wyseres kom op die plattelandse dorpie Hierdie gedeelte herinner ’n mens aan, bly in die losieshuis, ontmoet ’n jong, aan die onvergeetlike eerste paragrawe aantreklike boer by die tennis of die Kerk en van Marita van der Vyver se Griet skryf ’n verhouding ontwikkel. Goeie, ontspan- ’n sprokie, maar nie met heeltemal dié ningsleesstof wat ons almal destyds gelees impak nie. Vir meer as 50 bladsye word het. (Eleanor Baker het trouens onder die die verdrinkingspoging beskryf, soms skuilnaam van Christene Ie Roux ook etlike frustrerend vir die leser, maar miskien ’n liefdesverhale geskryf). weerspieëling van die wisseling van Marta By die tweede, meer noukeurige lees, soos se gemoedstoestand. Ons word aan een vir bespreking by ’n leeskring, byvoorbeeld, Marta bekendgestel terwyl ‘die ander Marta’ tref dit die leser dat die boek veel meer as iewers onder pyn, ontgogeling, onbegrip en net nog ’n verhaal bied. Die ander Marta vetrolletjies wag om los te kom. Om as’t vertel wat in die populêre leesstof verswyg ware afgeskil te word, om te lééf. word, naamlik die storie van die held en Vrouekarakters wat ontvlugting uit heldin meer as 30 jaar ná die troudag. emosioneel ontwrigtende situasies soek, is Hierdie boek het as tema die ‘dienende nie vreemd aan Eleanor Baker se oeuvre nie. Marta’ wat met al haar verborge verlangens Sy het reeds die tema benut in ’n Ou begin en vrese aanhou om haar rol gedienstig te en In die middel van die Karoo. vervul. Van die begin af oorheers Hendrik Die ander Marta troon egter kop en haar en sy laat hom begaan en betaal die skouers bo die ander tekste uit. prys. Marta was op die oog af ’n gewone plaasvrou wat konfyt gekook het, dorp Cape Libr., Nov/Dec 2005 26 BOEKWÊRELD toe gery het vir ’n hare-afspraak en tee Haar selfmoordpoging misluk. Koster wag Ons sien hoe die eerste stuk van Marta gedrink het by die kafee terwyl sy die mense haar op die strand in en toe hy hoor wat sy se lewe sonder moeite begin loskom met dopgehou het. (Maar sy dra ook ’n geheim wou doen, sê hy lakonies, ‘Ma merrem het haar paar uur lange selfmoordpoging. AI in haar hart waarvan niemand weet nie, nie nie veel luck gehet nie!’ haar bitterheid kom uit die diepte na die eens Hendrik nie. Sy maak ’n seun groot, Arme Marta het teen hierdie stadium oppervlak onder die sorgsaamheid van nuwe maar haar hart verlang na ’n dogtertjie wat omtrent geen selfbeeld nie en is oortuig dat vriende soos Ounie en Colin wat haar nie sy moes weggee.) sy vir niks deug nie. Tog word sy moeiteloos veroordeel nie en onvoorwaardelik aanvaar Marta is deel van ’n geslag vroue wat deur deur die seegemeenskappie in hulle midde soos sy is. die samelewing geleer is om hul ‘plek’ te ken. opgeneem waar sy met die moeisame Eleanor Baker is ’n meester wat weet In ’n ‘opheffende’ praatjie van die Vroue- afskilproses begin. ’n Mens kan byna die see wanneer om haar leser te terg en wanneer Landbouvereniging (VLV) leer sy die deugde ruik, die huisies sien, die vis proe, ook jou om net te vertel. Dit is heerlik om die pad van ’n ‘goeie’ vrou, selfontkennend, altyd die indink in die eerste maal se klere koop op te loop saam met ’n jong Marta wie se lyf mindere wat nooit argumenteer, rusie maak die dorp. Die karakters wat Eleanor Baker haar man se plesier is, maar ’n mens hou of haarself laat geld nie. Die vroue leer dat skep, maak die boek ’n klein juweel: Koster, jou hart vas saam met die lewensmoë 50- mans voor in die motor sit en vroue agter. met sy sê-goed, sy ruim hart, sy nugterheid jarige, oorgewig vrou, met die sakrokke wat Mans mag maar op hul vroue skreeu en met oor die lewe; Henk en Ounie van die padstal net die pad vat. Teen die einde is dit met hulle praat asof hulle dom is. Dit is die vrou wat vir haar onvoorwaardelik aanvaar en vreugde dat ’n mens ‘die ander Marta’ sien, se plig om dit af te lag. ’n Mens sien dit baie werk gee vir leë dae; Frieda, met Cyril wat emosioneel bevry en selfkoesterend, arms duidelik as hulle, byvoorbeeld, saam dorp toe af en toe huis toe kom en die seuntjie vir omhoog gegooi vir die lewe! Hierdie boek gaan of met ’n Wildtuinvakansie. wie Marta toonrympies leer; en laastens is werklik ’n nuwe kyk na ons oënskynlike Dis ironies dat dit vroue is wat aan ander die sterwende Colin vir wie Marta liefdevol ondramatiese klein bestaan, ’n ware vroue sê hoe hulle moet lewe soos Marta tot sy dood verpleeg. Hulle was soos hartsboek. se ma vir haar dit ingeprent her. Maar Marta skepe in die nag, maar sy het besluit om by Dit is ongelukkig Eleanor Baker se het tog ander rolmodelle ook gehad soos hom te bly. So was hy ook deel van haar laaste roman. Sy is op 1 Julie 2002 in die haar vriendin Bertine en haar seun se vrou. helingsproses ten spyte van sy ongeneeslike ouderdom van 57 jaar oorlede. (Sien artikel Trouens, haar seun-hulle het mekaar ruimte siekte. in KB Januarie/Februarie 2003 pp.14-15.) gegee en wys dat die jonger geslag wel Soos karakters in Eleanor Baker se Dit is beslis die moeite werd om hierdie meer ‘verlig’ leef. Bertine se man het haar tekste Die glasappel en Die kwart-voor- boek te lees. eerstens erken as mens en dan as sy vrou. sewe lelie is Dead Ice (Marina, Hendrik se Hierdie werk van Eleanor Baker is in Dus kan ons sê dat Eleanor Baker in susterskind) een van haar kenmerkende, verwerkte vorm as toneelstuk opgevoer by hierdie roman ’n paar onvergeetlike situasies kleurryke persoonlikhede, heerlik verfrissend vanjaar se Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees en karakters geskep het. Sy stel die leser en geloofwaardig. Ook Raoul, haar vriend (KKNK). Die toneelstuk het ontstaan nadat bloot aan die verskillende skakerings van ‘skyn ’n gawe kêreltjie te wees’. Hendrik leer Celeste van Rooyen die roman gelees menslike verhoudings. Die leser besef dat hoe mans en vroue en jongmense se koppe het. Noodwendig moes daar aan die aan die wortel van hierdie verhoudings ‘deesdae’ werk. verhaal gesny word en Colin figureer glad Iê die onvermoë om genoegsaam Dit bring sy sagte, weerlose kant na nie. Tog volgens Krit en talle toeskouers en toereikend te kommunikeer. Die vore. Hy koop selfs ’n klein hondjie wat het die storie van die ‘wroegende Marta emosionele verwaarlosing wat daarop volg, buite slaap. Ons lees dat wanneer Hendrik meegesleur’. Dit was die moeite werd om het nie net vir die vrou nie, maar ook vir en Marta weer bymekaar uitkom dinge by te woon. haar huweliksmaat oneindige gevolge. verander het. Nie net die kontoere van hul Besonder interessant was die oop In haar matriekjaar ontmoet die skrander lywe nie, maar ook hul emosionele patrone verhoogtegniek. Daar was tegelyk Marta ’n blonde, blouoog proefonderwyser, en denkwyse het volwasse geword, die verskillende scenarios waartussen die spelers Marius Bouwer - wat meer as net ’n swaartepunte het verskuif en ’n mens het gemaklik beweeg het en geen gordyn is geestesgenootskap na-Iaat wanneer hy as’t ware deernis met hulle.
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