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Dol Heuning
Die verhale in Dol heuning kring soos breedtegrade om ’n aardbol uit – van Suid-Afrika na Ysland, die Belgiese platteland en die Italiaanse Alpe.
In ’n boomryke Kaapstadse woonbuurt koester ’n paar hul seuntjie terwyl hul skoonmaker se kind in volle aangesig van die land se ongeregtighede moet staan.
In die yslandskap van Reykjavic sluk ’n vrou dol heuning saam met die man wat haar vir ’n ander verruil het en bring hulle ’n angswekkende aand saam met ’n gewelddadige Rus en sy metgesel deur.
Terwyl twee minnaars in New England aan die wreedheid van hul gasheer uitgelewer word toe sy menslikheid hom verlaat, ontferm ’n ma haar oor ’n straatkind op Park-stasie.
Die verhaalsiklus wat die kroon span, vertel hoe ’n jong Namibiër en sy Japannese vriendin ’n tragedie in die berge en ’n nag in ’n beklemmende chateau met ’n poel vol gloeiende palings beleef.
Ná die veelbekroonde Alfabet van die voëls, publiseer SJ Naudé ’n tweede bundel kortverhale wat ontstel, verras, en boweal bekoor.
In ’n boomryke Kaapstadse woonbuurt koester ’n paar hul seuntjie terwyl hul skoonmaker se kind in volle aangesig van die land se ongeregtighede moet staan.
In die yslandskap van Reykjavic sluk ’n vrou dol heuning saam met die man wat haar vir ’n ander verruil het en bring hulle ’n angswekkende aand saam met ’n gewelddadige Rus en sy metgesel deur.
Terwyl twee minnaars in New England aan die wreedheid van hul gasheer uitgelewer word toe sy menslikheid hom verlaat, ontferm ’n ma haar oor ’n straatkind op Park-stasie.
Die verhaalsiklus wat die kroon span, vertel hoe ’n jong Namibiër en sy Japannese vriendin ’n tragedie in die berge en ’n nag in ’n beklemmende chateau met ’n poel vol gloeiende palings beleef.
Ná die veelbekroonde Alfabet van die voëls, publiseer SJ Naudé ’n tweede bundel kortverhale wat ontstel, verras, en boweal bekoor.
- GenresShort Stories
240 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2021
7 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
S.J. Naudé
4 books20 followersS.J. Naudé is the author of The Alphabet of Birds, a prize-winning collection of short stories published in Afrikaans, English and Dutch. He studied law at the University of Pretoria as well as at Cambridge and Columbia. He also holds a master’s degree in creative writing. He is a past winner of the University of Johannesburg Debut Prize and the Jan Rabie Rapport Prize, and was awarded the Jan Rabie and Marjorie Wallace Writing Scholarship for 2014. His work has appeared in Granta and journals in the United States, the Netherlands, and Italy. Having worked in New York and London for many years, he currently lives in Johannesburg.
S.J. Naudé is die skrywer van Alfabet van die voëls, wenner van die Universiteit van Johannesburg-debuut en die Jan Rabie Rapport-prys. Hy het in die regte aan die Universiteit van Pretoria en aan Cambridge en Columbia studeer en verwerf ’n meestersgraad in kreatiewe skryfkuns aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch. Alfabet van die voëls verskyn ook in Nederlands en Engels. Die Jan Rabie & Marjorie Wallace-skrywersbeurs vir 2014 is aan hom toegeken en sy werk is gepubliseer in Granta en tydskrifte in die vsa, Nederland en Italië. Na jare in New York en Londen, woon hy tans in Johannesburg.
S.J. Naudé is die skrywer van Alfabet van die voëls, wenner van die Universiteit van Johannesburg-debuut en die Jan Rabie Rapport-prys. Hy het in die regte aan die Universiteit van Pretoria en aan Cambridge en Columbia studeer en verwerf ’n meestersgraad in kreatiewe skryfkuns aan die Universiteit van Stellenbosch. Alfabet van die voëls verskyn ook in Nederlands en Engels. Die Jan Rabie & Marjorie Wallace-skrywersbeurs vir 2014 is aan hom toegeken en sy werk is gepubliseer in Granta en tydskrifte in die vsa, Nederland en Italië. Na jare in New York en Londen, woon hy tans in Johannesburg.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 28, 2021
#dolheuning - SJ Naudé
#umuzi
#penguinrandomhousesa
Wanneer ek kortverhale lees, verkies ek die langer tipes; hoe korter die verhale, hoe meer vrees ek dat ek nie betyds al die leidrade benodig vir interpretasie sal kan eien voor die slottoneel nie. Hierdie bundel, deur ‘n skrywer wat reeds verskeie groot pryse ingepalm het, bevat 6 langerige kortverhale en 2 korteres. Die geweldige verskeidenheid emosies wat die skrywer by my as leser kon ontlok, was ‘n asemrowende ervaring, maar daar is tòg temas wat sentraal figureer: drome; die gebrokenheid van verhoudings; ouerskap en ontnugtering.
Die kontraste wat meewerk om ‘n eenheid te skep - so teenstrydig as wat dit mag klink - loop ook soos ‘n goue draad deur die bundel: hitte teenoor koue; woestyn teenoor ys; grys teenoor flambojante helderkleurigheid; ouerskap teenoor kinderloosheid; beknopte stedelike ruimtes teenoor uitgestrekte landskappe.
In die eerste verhaal, ‘Fawzi al-Junaidi’, word Sebastian, die lang verwagte seun van Frans en Johannes, se lewe parallel èn in teenstelling met die van ‘n naamlose seun van Khayalitsha, geskets. Die titelverhaal, ‘Dol heuning’ beeld die rykdom van kleur van die Noorderligte en ‘n hallusinogeniese heuning teenoor die monochrome agtergrond van Ysland uit. ‘Wonderwerk’ is waarskynlik my gunsteling: die spanning bou tot breekpunt toe op en die hartverskeurende slottoneel sal my baie lank bybly. ‘Twee libretto’s’ se eerste deel, ‘Aria 1: moeder van ‘n pas gestorwe jong man’, beskryf die rou smart van die moeder in poëties mooi taal, sonder enige onnodige woorde; gestroop tot op die been van emosie. ‘Die dal van doodskaduwee’ vertel die hartroerende verhaal van ‘n jong ma se ontmoeting met ‘n straatkind, Xavier, en ondersoek die grense en hindernisse tussen mense en in ‘Warm kompos’ is Mark se devolusie metafories vervat in sy verhouding met sy omgewing. ‘Daar is mans’ vertel van Jakob se ontmoeting met die desperate Cian wat ten alle koste by sy geliefde Quinlan wil uitkom en verwys ook na een van my gunsteling sprokies, ‘Die rob-vrou’: ‘Maar ‘n rob glip maklik weg. Na hulle getroud is en Londen toe getrek het, het sy nie meer gesing nie.’ Die slotbydrae, ‘Landskappe met figure’ open met sneeubedekte tonele in die Alpe en sluit op die vlaktes van die Namib. Soos die sand op die sneeu in hierdie laaste verhaal, sal hierdie bundel aan my hart bly klou. As ek meer as 5 sterre kon toeken, sou ek. Meesterlik.
#Uitdieperdsebek
#umuzi
#penguinrandomhousesa
Wanneer ek kortverhale lees, verkies ek die langer tipes; hoe korter die verhale, hoe meer vrees ek dat ek nie betyds al die leidrade benodig vir interpretasie sal kan eien voor die slottoneel nie. Hierdie bundel, deur ‘n skrywer wat reeds verskeie groot pryse ingepalm het, bevat 6 langerige kortverhale en 2 korteres. Die geweldige verskeidenheid emosies wat die skrywer by my as leser kon ontlok, was ‘n asemrowende ervaring, maar daar is tòg temas wat sentraal figureer: drome; die gebrokenheid van verhoudings; ouerskap en ontnugtering.
Die kontraste wat meewerk om ‘n eenheid te skep - so teenstrydig as wat dit mag klink - loop ook soos ‘n goue draad deur die bundel: hitte teenoor koue; woestyn teenoor ys; grys teenoor flambojante helderkleurigheid; ouerskap teenoor kinderloosheid; beknopte stedelike ruimtes teenoor uitgestrekte landskappe.
In die eerste verhaal, ‘Fawzi al-Junaidi’, word Sebastian, die lang verwagte seun van Frans en Johannes, se lewe parallel èn in teenstelling met die van ‘n naamlose seun van Khayalitsha, geskets. Die titelverhaal, ‘Dol heuning’ beeld die rykdom van kleur van die Noorderligte en ‘n hallusinogeniese heuning teenoor die monochrome agtergrond van Ysland uit. ‘Wonderwerk’ is waarskynlik my gunsteling: die spanning bou tot breekpunt toe op en die hartverskeurende slottoneel sal my baie lank bybly. ‘Twee libretto’s’ se eerste deel, ‘Aria 1: moeder van ‘n pas gestorwe jong man’, beskryf die rou smart van die moeder in poëties mooi taal, sonder enige onnodige woorde; gestroop tot op die been van emosie. ‘Die dal van doodskaduwee’ vertel die hartroerende verhaal van ‘n jong ma se ontmoeting met ‘n straatkind, Xavier, en ondersoek die grense en hindernisse tussen mense en in ‘Warm kompos’ is Mark se devolusie metafories vervat in sy verhouding met sy omgewing. ‘Daar is mans’ vertel van Jakob se ontmoeting met die desperate Cian wat ten alle koste by sy geliefde Quinlan wil uitkom en verwys ook na een van my gunsteling sprokies, ‘Die rob-vrou’: ‘Maar ‘n rob glip maklik weg. Na hulle getroud is en Londen toe getrek het, het sy nie meer gesing nie.’ Die slotbydrae, ‘Landskappe met figure’ open met sneeubedekte tonele in die Alpe en sluit op die vlaktes van die Namib. Soos die sand op die sneeu in hierdie laaste verhaal, sal hierdie bundel aan my hart bly klou. As ek meer as 5 sterre kon toeken, sou ek. Meesterlik.
#Uitdieperdsebek
Want to read
April 24, 2022Blurb:
From SA to Iceland, rural Belgium and the Alps, the stories in Mad Honey radiate out to encompass the globe. In Cape Town, a couple raise their son in leafy suburbia, while their cleaner’s child must face the inequities of their country head on.
Amid Reykjavik’s frozen landscape, a woman takes mad honey with the man who has left her for another, and spends a chilling night with a violent Russian and his companion.
And in New England, two lovers face the cruelty of a host who lacks all humanity, while a mother takes pity on a street child she finds on a platform at Park Station.
Crowning this collection is a story cycle featuring a young Namibian and his Japanese friend, who spend a claustrophobic night in a chateau with a dark pool of glowing eels — this after being pulled into a tragedy on the ski slopes of Italy.
Following on from his award-winning first collection, published in English as The Alphabet of Birds, SJ Naudé’s second collection of short stories disturbs, surprises and enthrals.
From SA to Iceland, rural Belgium and the Alps, the stories in Mad Honey radiate out to encompass the globe. In Cape Town, a couple raise their son in leafy suburbia, while their cleaner’s child must face the inequities of their country head on.
Amid Reykjavik’s frozen landscape, a woman takes mad honey with the man who has left her for another, and spends a chilling night with a violent Russian and his companion.
And in New England, two lovers face the cruelty of a host who lacks all humanity, while a mother takes pity on a street child she finds on a platform at Park Station.
Crowning this collection is a story cycle featuring a young Namibian and his Japanese friend, who spend a claustrophobic night in a chateau with a dark pool of glowing eels — this after being pulled into a tragedy on the ski slopes of Italy.
Following on from his award-winning first collection, published in English as The Alphabet of Birds, SJ Naudé’s second collection of short stories disturbs, surprises and enthrals.
July 16, 2021
I have so far read just the first short story in this collection and have been deeply affected; there's a sense of inexplicable shock, literally like an electric jolt, that comes from the writing. It works on a level beyond the scope of mere words, beyond the reach of the story. Everything that is unsaid lingers, to haunt you.
April 19, 2021
Man, this guy can write!
Like world-class, electric, fascinating. Tension so taut I read the short stories in Mad Honey by SJ Naude with my jaw clenched.
Like that thing when you are absorbed by characters after just a few pages, brought into their worlds, engaged, and invested, then on edge with each new challenge, terror or disturbing decision that faces them.
But here's the thing about short stories... I do like reading them now and again, but I often don’t 'get' them.
As a lover of fiction, I obviously gravitate towards the ones that are structured like mini novels. But that's not always their natural form. And so my narrow preference is my flaw as a reader, and certainly not the authors' flaw as writer.
So many short stories out there (and certainly not all of the ones in this collection) are more like prose, or they’re left open-ended, vague or suddenly mystifying, and you get to figure out their meaning, or fill in the gaps.
So has anyone out here read Mad Honey yet? As I'd love to discuss the endings of a few of them. Like the one set in New England, where two lovers face the cruelty of a host who lacks all humanity. And also and especially the one where a mother takes pity on a street child she finds on a platform at Park Station in Joburg. I could also do to chat about the 'story cycle' where a young Namibian and his Japanese friend go on three dangerous adventures, to Mountain, Valley and Dessert.
I come out of these beautiful, thrilling stories with questions;
Who died... why? And what happened to that other guy? And why was it suddenly snowing 🤣😂 And was it his twin?
That being said, maybe the journey of short stories is more important than the destination. Because despite all that I absolutely LOVED reading this collection. He is such a giant, monumental talent, you shouldn't miss this one, whether you 'get' short stories or not.
[Side note: And also, at the news of the library at UCT burning today, I'm feeling so sad, devastated and nostalgic for all the words out there that won't get to be read again, that we owe it to the good words still left behind to read and read and read.]
Like world-class, electric, fascinating. Tension so taut I read the short stories in Mad Honey by SJ Naude with my jaw clenched.
Like that thing when you are absorbed by characters after just a few pages, brought into their worlds, engaged, and invested, then on edge with each new challenge, terror or disturbing decision that faces them.
But here's the thing about short stories... I do like reading them now and again, but I often don’t 'get' them.
As a lover of fiction, I obviously gravitate towards the ones that are structured like mini novels. But that's not always their natural form. And so my narrow preference is my flaw as a reader, and certainly not the authors' flaw as writer.
So many short stories out there (and certainly not all of the ones in this collection) are more like prose, or they’re left open-ended, vague or suddenly mystifying, and you get to figure out their meaning, or fill in the gaps.
So has anyone out here read Mad Honey yet? As I'd love to discuss the endings of a few of them. Like the one set in New England, where two lovers face the cruelty of a host who lacks all humanity. And also and especially the one where a mother takes pity on a street child she finds on a platform at Park Station in Joburg. I could also do to chat about the 'story cycle' where a young Namibian and his Japanese friend go on three dangerous adventures, to Mountain, Valley and Dessert.
I come out of these beautiful, thrilling stories with questions;
Who died... why? And what happened to that other guy? And why was it suddenly snowing 🤣😂 And was it his twin?
That being said, maybe the journey of short stories is more important than the destination. Because despite all that I absolutely LOVED reading this collection. He is such a giant, monumental talent, you shouldn't miss this one, whether you 'get' short stories or not.
[Side note: And also, at the news of the library at UCT burning today, I'm feeling so sad, devastated and nostalgic for all the words out there that won't get to be read again, that we owe it to the good words still left behind to read and read and read.]
July 16, 2023
Tense, gripping, haunting, and beautifully written. What a discovery SJ Naude is! Absolutely loved this. None of the stories in this collection resolve in the way you think they will - they’re deeply unsettling and I’m not even sure I know why. It’s kind of Mariana Enriquez meets Carmen Maria Machado but more character-driven and not as obviously horror, although it’s not not horror. Superbly done.
August 10, 2021
Dit is so wonderlik om kosmopolitiese stories in Afrikaans te lees. Mens vergeet amper dat dit moontlik is vir ons om stories in Afrikaans te kan vertel wat afspeel in Ysland of Manhattan en niks met die psige van die Afrikaner te doene het nie. Die stories het my oorrompel. Angswekkend by tye, altyd liries- dis die tipe boek wat jy hoop net sal aanhou en aanhou. Hoogs aanbeveelbaar. Veral as jy jouself sien as 'n oopkop wêreldburger.
Want to read
April 24, 2022Blurb in English:
From SA to Iceland, rural Belgium and the Alps, the stories in Mad Honey radiate out to encompass the globe. In Cape Town, a couple raise their son in leafy suburbia, while their cleaner’s child must face the inequities of their country head on.
Amid Reykjavik’s frozen landscape, a woman takes mad honey with the man who has left her for another, and spends a chilling night with a violent Russian and his companion.
And in New England, two lovers face the cruelty of a host who lacks all humanity, while a mother takes pity on a street child she finds on a platform at Park Station.
Crowning this collection is a story cycle featuring a young Namibian and his Japanese friend, who spend a claustrophobic night in a chateau with a dark pool of glowing eels — this after being pulled into a tragedy on the ski slopes of Italy.
Following on from his award-winning first collection, published in English as The Alphabet of Birds, SJ Naudé’s second collection of short stories disturbs, surprises and enthrals.
From SA to Iceland, rural Belgium and the Alps, the stories in Mad Honey radiate out to encompass the globe. In Cape Town, a couple raise their son in leafy suburbia, while their cleaner’s child must face the inequities of their country head on.
Amid Reykjavik’s frozen landscape, a woman takes mad honey with the man who has left her for another, and spends a chilling night with a violent Russian and his companion.
And in New England, two lovers face the cruelty of a host who lacks all humanity, while a mother takes pity on a street child she finds on a platform at Park Station.
Crowning this collection is a story cycle featuring a young Namibian and his Japanese friend, who spend a claustrophobic night in a chateau with a dark pool of glowing eels — this after being pulled into a tragedy on the ski slopes of Italy.
Following on from his award-winning first collection, published in English as The Alphabet of Birds, SJ Naudé’s second collection of short stories disturbs, surprises and enthrals.
August 21, 2022
This is an interesting collection of short stories, often with a bit of a fantastical element. The author's strength lies in writing interesting characters but I found it lacking in terms of driving the plot forwards in each story - so it's clearly not my kind of book.
I found the earlier shorts revolving around ingesting hallucinogenic mad honey more interesting and the latter stories wrestling with motherhood and a friendship becoming something more were quite tedious for me. Ended up reading it because the cover art, which is beautiful, is by an artist I know.
I found the earlier shorts revolving around ingesting hallucinogenic mad honey more interesting and the latter stories wrestling with motherhood and a friendship becoming something more were quite tedious for me. Ended up reading it because the cover art, which is beautiful, is by an artist I know.
April 26, 2022
Ek is dankbaar ek hoef nie 'n resensie oor hierdie boek te doen nie, want elke verhaal verdien 'n volledige resensie.
Ek dink hy verdien 'n herlees vir volledige impak.
Ek dink hy verdien 'n herlees vir volledige impak.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews