"My lyf was my slagspreuk"; verset en die politiek van die liggaam in 30 Nagte in Amsterdam van Etienne van Heerden

Abstract

In 30 Nights in Amsterdam, the two main characters, Henk de Melker and his aunt Susan de Melker, migrate (temporarily) to Amsterdam. Although Henk ostensibly goes to Amsterdam to claim an inheritance, it is soon apparent that the real purpose behind his stay in the city is an investigative search for knowledge. This article sets out the argument that the novel appropriates the conventions of the detective genre, specifically within the investigative tradition of the neo-noir film. The focus is on the city as a space, the "crimes" of the past, the role of the investigator, and the role of the femme fatale in the novel. The "criminal" actions of the latter originate from rebellion and resistance. The thematics of resistance and the role played by the politics of the body, as manifestation of resistance, are also examined, using Edward Soja's (1996) view on Thirdspace, as well as Kristeva's (1982) theory of the abject.