Vergenoeg by Marita van der Vyver

Vergenoeg (First Edition, Second Printing, Afrikaans Novel)

A Moving Afrikaans Novel of a Dying Mother and Her Two Daughters, by a Prize-Winning South African Author

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Vergenoeg
• Author: Marita van der Vyver
• Publisher: Tafelberg-Uitgewers, Kaapstad
• Publication Date: 2003
• ISBN-13: 9780624041269
• ISBN-10: 0624041263
• Edition Details: First Edition (Eerste uitgawe), Second Printing (tweede druk).
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated red paperback wrappers, perfect bound.
• Physical Format: Large softcover (trade paperback). Author photograph to the back cover.
• Language: Afrikaans

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good (VG)
• Exterior / Wraps: Red printed wrappers with a floral dress image. The spine shows a visible vertical crease along its length, with the lettering still largely intact. A small white mark sits at the lower left edge of the back cover. The front cover is otherwise clean and the corners are fairly sharp. The top and fore-edges are slightly creamy.
• Interior: The text block is tight and the pages examined are clean and bright, with no foxing or markings. The edges of the text block are clean, with some darker colouring to the tail edge.
• The Dust Jacket: Not Applicable (As Issued)

Synopsis & Historical Value

Vergenoeg, published by Tafelberg in Cape Town in 2003, is a novel about mothers, daughters and death. It takes place in the fictional town of Vergenoeg, where the charismatic Adèle, a woman of sixty, is living with cancer.

Her adult daughters nurse her: San, the irritatingly responsible one, and Bella, who is unashamedly irreverent. Through the contrast between the sisters, the novel explores family loyalty, illness and the closeness and friction between women.

The novel was published in Dutch translation by Sirene in Amsterdam in 2004. This is a clean, collectible Afrikaans copy of a well-regarded work by one of the country's best-known contemporary authors.

Author Profile: Marita van der Vyver

Marita van der Vyver was born in Cape Town in 1958 and studied at Stellenbosch University, where she later completed a master's degree in journalism. She worked as a reporter for Die Burger, as a copywriter for the book club Leserskring and as a feature writer for Sarie.

Her first adult novel, Griet skryf 'n sprokie (1992), won the ATKV, M-Net and Eugène Marais prizes, and appeared in English as Entertaining Angels. Her other works include Die ongelooflike avonture van Hanna Hoekom, which won the Sanlam Prize for Youth Fiction in 2002, and Dis koue kos, skat. She lives in France.

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