Die blou van onthou by Marita van der Vyver

Die blou van onthou (Eerste Uitgawe 2012 Afrikaans Novel)

A Multi-Generational Afrikaans Family Saga of Memory, Loss and Saudade by Marita van der Vyver

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Die blou van onthou
• Author: Marita van der Vyver
• Publisher: Tafelberg, Kaapstad
• Publication Date: 2012
• ISBN-13: 9780624055181
• Edition Details: Eerste uitgawe (First Edition), 2012.
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated paperback (perfect bound) in printed blue wrappers, white title lettering, no flaps.
• Physical Format: Large Softcover (trade paperback format), roughly 235 x 155 mm. No maps or plates.
• Language: Afrikaans

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Wraps: The printed blue wrappers are generally clean. The spine is creased, with light stress lines along its length and a small dark mark near the middle. The corners and edges look clean. The back cover has a small dent or crease near the upper centre and carries a shop price and ISBN sticker with a barcode labelled 'FIKSIE'. The page edges are toned a cream to yellowish colour.
• Interior: The pages are cream, clean and legible, with no markings, foxing or tears. The binding is sound.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Published by Tafelberg in Cape Town in 2012, Die blou van onthou is a novel by Marita van der Vyver that follows three generations of an Afrikaans family. The story opens in the twilight of Colette Cronjé's life, when she receives a letter from a long-lost relative. Events in Portugal half a century earlier changed her life and those of the next two generations.

At the centre of the book is the Portuguese idea of saudade, the love that remains after the object of that love has gone. Old diaries, letters and a hidden family past drive the narrative, which one reviewer describes as partly an Afrikaner history and partly the history of one particular family.

The novel was also published in English as Forget-me-not Blues. This Afrikaans first edition will appeal to readers and collectors of contemporary Afrikaans literature and of Marita van der Vyver's work.

Author Profile: Marita van der Vyver

Marita van der Vyver (born 1958) is an Afrikaans author who has written for both adult and young readers. She won a study bursary in a national Afrikaans poetry competition for matric pupils in 1975 and took a BA degree at Stellenbosch University. She then worked as a reporter for Die Burger, a copywriter for Leserskring and a feature writer for Sarie.

Her first adult novel, Griet skryf 'n sprokie, became a bestseller and won the M-Net, Eugène Marais and ATKV Prizes in 1992. It was published in English as Entertaining Angels. Her youth novel Die Ongelooflike Avonture van Hanna Hoekom won the Sanlam Prize for Youth Fiction in 2002 and was filmed in 2010. She has lived in France since 1999.

Die blou van onthou Marita van der Vyver · Marita van der Vyver eerste uitgawe · Afrikaans novel Tafelberg 2012 · Forget-me-not Blues Afrikaans original · contemporary Afrikaans literature · Afrikaans family saga novel · collectible Afrikaans fiction