I had never read anything by Coetzee, so after he won the Pulitzer Price
for Literature in 2003 I thought I had better check him out.
"Disgrace" for which Coetzee won the 1999 Booker Prize was a good
choice. There is so much packed in this spare book: sexual
relationships, age and generational conflicts, parent-and-child
relations, racial and status changes in South Africa after apartheid,
and even man and animal interactions. Some reviewers have found "grace
and love" in the book, but I found it infinitely sad, bleak, and
heartbreaking.
Set in South Africa, the novel begins with a 52-year-old divorced
professor going through the motions of teaching who has a brief,
unfulfilling, affair with a student. He is dismissed from the
university after a complaint is filed. He then travels to visit his
daughter on her farm. At first idyllic, everything is changed when he
and his daughter are brutally attacked.
I saw a man unfulfilled, anticipating old age and death, and ultimately
impotent. He is like the unwanted dogs that he helps put down at the
animal shelter. He has lost earthly purpose and value.
This was a powerful read and would be an excellent book for a book
discussion group. I will have to check out some of his other works!
Adam Janowski
Library Media Specialist
Naples High School
1100 Golden Eagle Circle
Naples, FL 34102
E-mail: NHSWebmaster@collier.k12.fl.us
Phone: 239-430-6644 Ext. 390
Fax: 239-430-6673
Library web site: http://collier.k12.fl.us/nhs/lmc/
School web site: http://collier.k12.fl.us/nhs/
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