PRETORIA - David Van Reybrouck investigates whether and to what extent Maurice Maeterlinck, so far the only Belgian Nobel laureate in literature, committed plagiarism when writing 'La Vie des Termites' (1926).
While researching for his doctorate in prehistoric archaeology at the University of Leiden, David Van Reybrouck came across a curious aside. The great Belgian writer and Nobel laureate Maurice Maeterlinck is alleged to have plagiarised the South African writer Eugène Marais in his 1926 book La vie des termites. Van Reybrouck travels to South Africa to investigate the case and finds himself in a contemporary situation that completely removes him from the atmosphere of the distant past. The reality of South Africa presents itself. The investigation, which begins with a simple question, becomes a quest of extraordinary proportions.
De Plaag
This research resulted in the book 'De Plaag'.
De Plaag by David Van Reybrouck won the Debut Prize in 2002 (Belgium) and was nominated for the Golden Owl literary prize in 2002.
