J. M. Coetzee

This is a rather slow book to read. Not a bad book, but certainly not Coetzee’s best book, which, in my opinion, was Disgrace. This book was slow in many spots, but would once again pick up.

The characters were well developed. I felt like I really knew Paul Rayment, Marijana, and Elizabeth Costello. The dialogue was crisp and realistic as well. I enjoyed knowing these characters who felt real to life.

The story follows Paul Rayment, who loses his leg in a bicycle accident. His solitary life is suddenly changed in an instant. He refuses to be fitted for a prosthesis, and is cared for by a series of nurses. Paul becomes infatuated with Marijana, one of the nurses, and professes his love for her. He vows to put her son through school and help Marijana’s family in financial ways, much to the chagrin of Marijana’s husband. Enter Elizabeth Costello, a writer, who tries to bring Paul back to reality and sets him up with a romantic encounter with a woman named Marianna. They do not hit it off as Paul is still smitten with Marijana. There is a nice surprise ending that feels appropriate.

This is a deeply moving story about love and caring, loss and heartache, unrequited love and friendship, and finally about life and mortality. Despite the lag at times, I really enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more of Coetzee’s works.… (mais)

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.… (mais)

Coetzee gives us a tango between Witold, an aging artist, and Beatriz, a middle-aged woman in a loveless marriage. Though the writing is spare, it carries a lot of weight. In this novel of ideas, Coetzee’s themes range broadly. They include love, commitment, family, art, literature, aging, loneliness, language, longing, delusion, sex, etc., etc. Most of these ideas Coetzee approaches obliquely, leaving much unsaid.

Beatriz presents as the consummate realist, while Witold is the ultimate romantic. While I found Beatriz to be credible, Witold seemed to be too fanciful to be believed. She responds positively to his attentions but finds them lacking in subtlety and never responds coquettishly. Witold, on the other hand, seems to have fallen head-over-heels for her following a dinner that they had with an elderly couple, no less. I found the life-altering nature of this brief encounter to be pretty far-fetched and it spoiled a lot of what followed for me.… (mais)