Kruispunt by P.J. Haasbroek

Kruispunt (Collectible Afrikaans Short Story Collection)

Fourteen Stories of Hunting, Violence and Human Frailty from an Acclaimed Afrikaans Short Story Writer

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Kruispunt: Kortverhale
• Author: P.J. Haasbroek
• Publisher: Human & Rousseau, Kaapstad Pretoria
• Publication Date: 2010
• ISBN-13: 9780798151719
• Edition Details: Eerste uitgawe (First Edition), as stated.
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated paperback wrappers, perfect bound.
• Physical Format: Trade/medium softcover, slim volume, 192 pages.
• Language: Afrikaans

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Wraps: Illustrated wrappers with a river and town scene and a crosshair motif. A faint tan stain or mark sits in the upper-middle of the front cover near the horizon line. The spine is clean and straight, with a small light mark near the top edge.
• Interior: The text block is tight and clean. The page edges are toned to a yellowish cream. Pages seen are clean, with no markings or foxing.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Kruispunt (Afrikaans for crossroads) is a collection of short stories published in 2010 by Human & Rousseau. It is P.J. Haasbroek's fifth collection and appeared more than twenty years after his previous one.

The fourteen stories deal with hunting and violence, set on farms, during hunts and in war, in Africa and Europe. They examine human vulnerability and the darker side of the psyche. The perspective is strongly masculine but tempered by empathy.

On publication, reviewers described the collection as a probing self-examination of humanity's most brutal acts, and as an exploration of the fragility of modern man amid violence. It is serious, demanding reading and will appeal to collectors of modern Afrikaans literature.

Author Profile: P.J. Haasbroek

P.J. Haasbroek was born in Pretoria on 30 June 1943. He is an economist and Afrikaans writer who became a professor of economics at the University of Pretoria. He served as chief economist at Barloworld from 1988 until his retirement in 2004.

His other works include the short story collection Verby die Vlakte (1982), the novel Lem (1993), his first full-length novel with Human & Rousseau, and the dystopian satire Oemkontoe van die nasie (2001).