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Loading... Disgrace (original 1999; edition 2008)by J. M. Coetzee, Michael Cumpsty (Contributor)
Work InformationDisgrace by J. M. Coetzee (1999)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. found it super hard to read due to it being severely uninteresting, very boring, good riddance ! misogynistic ( ) The story of a disgraced university professor in Cape Town South Africa. He takes advantage of a female student and is asked to apologise publicly but refuses because he believes it is his right not to. He leaves the uni in disgrace and goes to live in the country where his daughter runs a very small land holding growing flowers and vegetables for sale at the local market. The era is not spelt out specifically but seems to reflect the unrest during the period of apartheid. they are attacked by 2 men and a youth who rape his daughter and set him alight with methylated spirits. the relationship between father and daughter ends up fractured due to their differing views on how the incident should be dealt with. I found the focus he gave to his attempt to write an opera on Byron's life an unnecessary distraction from the relationship issues explored through the interactions he had with various people. This is an absolutely wonderful book, one I thoroughly enjoyed. The narrative voice is excellent, the story flows well, and a book that reads quickly. The chapters are relatively short and I was anxious at the end of one chapter to get to the next. It is a relatively short book, just over 200 pages, but an absolute delight to read. The story is set in South Africa following apartheid, and follows 52 year old Professor David Lurie. Some might say he has a sexual addiction. He visits a prostitute on a weekly basis to satisfy his needs, but when she leaves the business, he turns to one of his students for an affair. This dalliance sets off a chain of events that ultimately lead to his dismissal at the university. Disgraced, Lurie retreats to his daughter’s home in the country, and moves in with her. Unfortunately, he fares no better there. He is attached and his daughter is raped by two black men and a young black boy. Lurie tries to make sense of the events that have occurred, but things become more complicated. His daughter becomes pregnant and the young boy turns out to be the brother of a neighbor’s wife. The neighbor, Petrus, assists Lurie’s daughter on the farm, but has his eyes on taking over her property. It appears the attack was an attempt to scare Lurie’s daughter away from the farm and surrender it to Petrus. The relationship between Lurie and his daughter become estranged and he leaves for a while. Lurie returns later, but no longer lives with his daughter. Lurie has his misfortunes, most are of his own causing. He is his own worst enemy. The story is full of symbolism, especially surrounding death. It is a touching story, one that will remain with you for a long time. J. M. Coetzee has written a masterpiece.
Coetzee erweist sich als ein Autor, der ein außerordentlich feines Gespür für die Atmosphäre und Probleme seiner Heimat besitzt. Er versteht es, eine beunruhigende, kompromisslose Geschichte daraus zu entwickeln. Even though it presents an almost unrelieved series of grim moments, ''Disgrace'' isn't claustrophobic or depressing, as some of Coetzee's earlier work has been. Its grammar allows for the sublime exhilaration of accident and surprise, and so the fate of its characters -- and perhaps indeed of their country -- seems not determined but improvised. Any novel set in post-apartheid South Africa is fated to be read as a political portrait, but the fascination of Disgrace – a somewhat perverse fascination, as some will feel – is the way it both encourages and contests such a reading by holding extreme alternatives in tension. Belongs to Publisher SeriesIs contained inHas the adaptationHas as a student's study guideAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
A white woman is gang-raped by blacks in this novel on post-apartheid South Africa. But she understands such settling of scores is inevitable, given what whites did to blacks, and she keeps the baby. By the author of Waiting for the barbarians. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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