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Die Onbekendes
Skielik op 'n dag is alles anders. Waarskuwings dui daarop dat die wereld nie meer ons woning is nie en mense begin dinge doen wat hulle nooit voorheen sou doen nie. Gewelddadige dinge ... alles is onvoorspelbaar. Onbekend. 'n Man en vrou stry om sin te maak van wat om hulle gebeur, moet waak teen gevare wat om elke hoek kan skuil ... en dan? As jou bestaan 'n nagmerrie word, wie vertrou jy? Waarvoor alles en vir wie almal moet jy bang wees?
239 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2010
About the author
François Bloemhof
99 books24 followersFrançois Bloemhof is in die 1960's in die Paarl gebore. Hy het in 1991 op die Suid-Afrikaanse literêre toneel verskyn as De Kat-pryswenner met sy debuutroman "Die nag het net een oog". Sy volgende drie boeke was almal op 'n manier spanningsverhale, voor moeilik klassifiseerbare tekste soos "Storieboek", "Hostis" en "Klipgooi".
Omdat jonger lesers van sy boeke gehou het, het hy ook spesifiek vir hulle begin skryf, met soveel sukses dat hy 'n ruk lank net daarop gekonsentreer het. Hy het gou 'n klomp ATKV-Veertjies ('n kompetisie waarin jong lesers self hul wenboeke aanwys) op sy rak gehad, asook pryse vir die tienermark, insluitend vir "Slinger-slinger" en "Nie vir kinders nie" (in Tafelberg en Sanlam se Jeuglektuurwedstryd) en "Stad aan die einde van die wêreld" (in die Maskew Miller Longman Literêre Kompetisie).
Nadat hy vyf jaar lank nie vir die volwasse mark iets gelewer het nie, het Bloemhof teruggekeer na die genre waarmee hy begin het met "Spinnerak", met Alma van der Pool as die heel eerste vrouespeurder in Afrikaanse fiksie. Sy maak weer so in "Jagseisoen" (2007).
Met verwysing na wat Alfred Hitchcock eenmaal gesê het, het Bloemhof al opgemerk: "Party mense skryf 'slices of life'. Ek het nog altyd 'slices of cake' verkies."
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François Bloemhof was born in the 1960s in Paarl. He made his debut on the South African literary scene in 1991 by winning the De Kat prize for his novel "Die nag het net een oog". His next three books were all thrillers of some sort, before he published largely unclassifiable works like "Storieboek", "Hostis" and "Klipgooi".
Because younger readers liked his books, he began to also write specifically for them, with such success that he became sidetracked for a while. He soon had a host of ATKV-Veertjies (a competition in which young readers select the winning books themselves) as well as prizes for the teenage market, including for "Slinger-slinger" and "Nie vir kinders nie" (in the Tafelberg/Sanlam Youth Literature Competition) and "Stad aan die einde van die wêreld" (in the Maskew Miller Longman Literary Competition).
After a five-year layoff from the adult fiction market, Bloemhof returned to the genre in which he started with "Spinnerak", featuring Alma van der Pool, the first ever female detective in Afrikaans fiction. She returned in "Jagseisoen" (2007).
With reference to a one-time comment by Alfred Hitchcock, Bloemhof has remarked: "Some people write slices of life. I've always preferred slices of cake."
Omdat jonger lesers van sy boeke gehou het, het hy ook spesifiek vir hulle begin skryf, met soveel sukses dat hy 'n ruk lank net daarop gekonsentreer het. Hy het gou 'n klomp ATKV-Veertjies ('n kompetisie waarin jong lesers self hul wenboeke aanwys) op sy rak gehad, asook pryse vir die tienermark, insluitend vir "Slinger-slinger" en "Nie vir kinders nie" (in Tafelberg en Sanlam se Jeuglektuurwedstryd) en "Stad aan die einde van die wêreld" (in die Maskew Miller Longman Literêre Kompetisie).
Nadat hy vyf jaar lank nie vir die volwasse mark iets gelewer het nie, het Bloemhof teruggekeer na die genre waarmee hy begin het met "Spinnerak", met Alma van der Pool as die heel eerste vrouespeurder in Afrikaanse fiksie. Sy maak weer so in "Jagseisoen" (2007).
Met verwysing na wat Alfred Hitchcock eenmaal gesê het, het Bloemhof al opgemerk: "Party mense skryf 'slices of life'. Ek het nog altyd 'slices of cake' verkies."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
François Bloemhof was born in the 1960s in Paarl. He made his debut on the South African literary scene in 1991 by winning the De Kat prize for his novel "Die nag het net een oog". His next three books were all thrillers of some sort, before he published largely unclassifiable works like "Storieboek", "Hostis" and "Klipgooi".
Because younger readers liked his books, he began to also write specifically for them, with such success that he became sidetracked for a while. He soon had a host of ATKV-Veertjies (a competition in which young readers select the winning books themselves) as well as prizes for the teenage market, including for "Slinger-slinger" and "Nie vir kinders nie" (in the Tafelberg/Sanlam Youth Literature Competition) and "Stad aan die einde van die wêreld" (in the Maskew Miller Longman Literary Competition).
After a five-year layoff from the adult fiction market, Bloemhof returned to the genre in which he started with "Spinnerak", featuring Alma van der Pool, the first ever female detective in Afrikaans fiction. She returned in "Jagseisoen" (2007).
With reference to a one-time comment by Alfred Hitchcock, Bloemhof has remarked: "Some people write slices of life. I've always preferred slices of cake."
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 10, 2019
Trigger warning for marital/spousal rape
In just 230 pages, Bloemhof delivers a spine-chilling suspense reminiscent of the 1978 sci-fi horror film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and eerie myths that link odd, even aggressive human behaviour to the full moon. Over the span of five days, we follow two thirty-something Cape Townians, Louise and Eon, as they try to maintain some semblance of normalcy in a city that seems to be steadily losing its mind. Ordinary people become moody, aggressive, mean-spirited and even murderous, and its all Louise and Eon can do to get out alive or die trying.
While the action takes place over five days, I did not experience the urgency of the main characters' precarious situations as early as I would have liked, given the limited length of the novel. I liked that I could witness the events unfold through two perspectives, because it gave me a grander scope from which to appreciate the city's steady decline into madness. However, I did feel bogged down by each character's soliloquising and moments of retrospection, which too often pulled me out of the present action.
The author gave us clues of the city people's strange behaviour from the get-go, starting with a naked man yelling to no one in particular on the side of the road, to Louise's work colleagues hearing a strange sound that gave them headaches, to people gathering around a fire in the middle of Louise's street for no discernible reason. Louise notices the full moon and wonders whether it could affect people in strange ways, which leads the reader to suspect something preternatural is afoot. Later in the novel, Louise has a dream which leads the reader to consider another cause for the city's craziness: a swift and almost subtle alien invasion. The jump from the full moon theory to the alien invasion theory is slightly abrupt, but not as jarring as Louise's leap to another theory inexpertly thrust into the very end of the novel. This last came-out-of-nowhere theory then turns out to be Bloemhof's way of conveniently tying up loose ends and giving everyone a happily-ever-after they may not fully deserve. Without giving too much away, let's just say that the ending reminded me of R. L. Stine's The Blob That Ate Everyone, but without the sensical setup you'd expect from a suspense.
Also, Louise did frustrate me, at times. She is a dedicated career woman, and an attentive mother, but she felt way too sorry for herself as a wife. Instead of communicating her needs to her husband, she lets him get away with all sorts of things.
Overall, I had a good time during the last third of the book, barring the too-neat ending. While I appreciated the time spent on giving the reader fleshed-out characters, the beginning and middle were too much of a slog to get through. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a slow-burn, slightly directionless suspense with a healthy serving of romance thrown in.
In just 230 pages, Bloemhof delivers a spine-chilling suspense reminiscent of the 1978 sci-fi horror film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and eerie myths that link odd, even aggressive human behaviour to the full moon. Over the span of five days, we follow two thirty-something Cape Townians, Louise and Eon, as they try to maintain some semblance of normalcy in a city that seems to be steadily losing its mind. Ordinary people become moody, aggressive, mean-spirited and even murderous, and its all Louise and Eon can do to get out alive or die trying.
While the action takes place over five days, I did not experience the urgency of the main characters' precarious situations as early as I would have liked, given the limited length of the novel. I liked that I could witness the events unfold through two perspectives, because it gave me a grander scope from which to appreciate the city's steady decline into madness. However, I did feel bogged down by each character's soliloquising and moments of retrospection, which too often pulled me out of the present action.
The author gave us clues of the city people's strange behaviour from the get-go, starting with a naked man yelling to no one in particular on the side of the road, to Louise's work colleagues hearing a strange sound that gave them headaches, to people gathering around a fire in the middle of Louise's street for no discernible reason. Louise notices the full moon and wonders whether it could affect people in strange ways, which leads the reader to suspect something preternatural is afoot. Later in the novel, Louise has a dream which leads the reader to consider another cause for the city's craziness: a swift and almost subtle alien invasion. The jump from the full moon theory to the alien invasion theory is slightly abrupt, but not as jarring as Louise's leap to another theory inexpertly thrust into the very end of the novel. This last came-out-of-nowhere theory then turns out to be Bloemhof's way of conveniently tying up loose ends and giving everyone a happily-ever-after they may not fully deserve. Without giving too much away, let's just say that the ending reminded me of R. L. Stine's The Blob That Ate Everyone, but without the sensical setup you'd expect from a suspense.
Also, Louise did frustrate me, at times. She is a dedicated career woman, and an attentive mother, but she felt way too sorry for herself as a wife. Instead of communicating her needs to her husband, she lets him get away with all sorts of things.
Overall, I had a good time during the last third of the book, barring the too-neat ending. While I appreciated the time spent on giving the reader fleshed-out characters, the beginning and middle were too much of a slog to get through. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy a slow-burn, slightly directionless suspense with a healthy serving of romance thrown in.
Displaying 1 of 1 review