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Driftwood
Driftwood | Dalene Matthee
8 posts | 3 read | 5 to read
Early in the twentieth century a four-year-old boy is washed ashore like a piece of driftwood at Rietfontein Bay in the Southern Cape. Plucked from amongst the drowned bodies and the wreckage of the ship which floundered on the rocky reefs, the child is adopted by Willem and Sanna Swart and is given the name Moses. More than fifty years later, Moses spends his days taking care of a flock of sheep, continually haunted by a sense of displacement and a yearning to know his real identity. When he goes to work as a gardener for the elderly Lord and Lady de Saumarez he begins for the first time to feel a sense of belonging, and the missing pieces of his life start to unravel. Dalene Matthee, in this her final work, has created a moving tale of identity lost and found.
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Yoricke_SouthAfrica
Die Uitgespoeldes | Dalene Matthee
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Quite excited to read another book by one of South Africa's legendary great authors.

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Die Uitgespoeldes | Dalene Matthee
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Driftwood is the short, beautifully written last novel of the writer of the famous forest books (Circles in a Forest, Mulberry Forest and Dreamforest), Dalene Matthee. Many of her her books are set in the Western Cape in the area that can be more or less called the Southern Cape. In this book, a young boy who survived a shipwreck grew up as the son of a shepherd, but he is actually of noble, European descent. 👇

MommyWantsToReadHerBook An English Lord who came to retire in the Strandveld brings Moses into contact with noblemen and help him connect the dots about where he came from. I have to admit I didn't fully understand the ending 🙄 The book is filled with beautiful descriptions of the area, the flowers and the sea. 6y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook If you've never read them, I can highly recommend 6y
Tamra Thanks for posting! I stacked Circles - that‘s the first correct? 6y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Tamra I stand to be corrected but I think it's the first of the forest novels - but they're all stand-alone so there's no issue 😊 6y
51 likes5 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Die Uitgespoeldes | Dalene Matthee
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Okay, nobody else is going to understand this, but it's hilarious! The main character is looking after Prime Minister Macmillan in a deserted house by the ocean as he's writing his address to the Cape Parliament in 1960. Moses the MC says he's going to make tea and the understanding is he will serve rusks - traditional Afrikaner baked goods that are hard and dry and meant to be dipped in coffee or tea. 👇

MommyWantsToReadHerBook Macmillan asks that he put some butter on the rusks because he finds them very dry ? The MC asks himself "How the devil do you spread butter on a rusk?“ ??? 6y
MaGoose Yup, I know what rusks are. My mom is of Dutch descent and spoke about them when I was younger. Italian biscotti may be a similar type of hard biscuit. 6y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @MaGoose cool, then you can imagine how ridiculous a risk with butter would be 😊 6y
See All 6 Comments
CGKOENS Nice! Ha! 6y
BarbaraJean Heeheehee!! 6y
51 likes6 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Die Uitgespoeldes | Dalene Matthee
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The first Saturday morning in a very long time I'm not at the farmer's market! We had an appointment this morning which was rescheduled but I decided I would rest this morning regardless. Kids are watching a movie for a little bit... We're not doing TV in the week anymore so then I can do stuff like this on the weekend and not feel guilty! 😊

Cathythoughts Enjoy ❤️ 6y
51 likes1 comment
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Die Uitgespoeldes | Dalene Matthee
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Trying to read a few pages while the eldest does ballet 👯‍♀️

Cathythoughts What a little darling ballerina 💕💕💕 6y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @Cathythoughts that's actually my youngest who HAS to wear a leotard and a (denim) skirt if her sister is wearing her ballet outfit 😂 6y
Reviewsbylola So cute! 6y
Reviewsbylola And my youngest is like that too. 😆 6y
60 likes4 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
Die Uitgespoeldes | Dalene Matthee
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Reading a bit of Afrikaans for a change. The author is one of our best and most well-known writers and this is her last novel. So far it's a bit odd... I'll see if I like it. The title means "the ones who have washed up on the shore".

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GlitterGirl
Driftwood | Dalene Matthee
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I am not a fan of translations but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this! (It was originally published in afrikaans as “Die Uitgespoeldes”)
Very well translated!!!

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GlitterGirl
Driftwood | Dalene Matthee
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And I received these beauties today!
DRIFTWOOD was wrapped in the gorgeous scarf and V came with the coloring calendar in the tote bag! 😍😍😍