J. M. Coetzee

"A los cincuenta y dos años, David Lurie tiene poco de lo que enorgullecerse. Con dos divorcios a sus espaldas, apaciguar el deseo es su única aspiración; sus clases en la universidad son un mero trámite para él y para los estudiantes. Cuando se descubre su relación con una alumna, David, en un acto de soberbia, preferirá renunciar a su puesto antes que disculparse en público. Rechazado por todos, abandona Ciudad del Cabo y va a visitar la granja de su hija Lucy. Allí, David, verá hacerse añicos todas sus creencias en una tarde de violencia implacable. Desgracia, que obtuvo el prestigioso premio Booker, no dejará indiferente al lector". (Descripción editorial).… (more)

Professor David Lurie has an affair with a student. Although the act had a consensual aspect, it is seen as an abuse of authority. He accepts the charges without fighting them. Many of his peers try to help him and advise Lurie to make some amends to be able to come back to work. Lurie admits guilt but does not accept the need for amends, thereby not taking the advice of his peers.

Being in disgrace he visits his daughter, Lucy, and stays at her home for some time. Life was decent for a time but then perpetrators violated Lucy, stole items, and burned David. The story being told to the police is only about the stole items and harm to David, nothing about Lucy. David mirrors his prior peers in advising Lucy to tell the whole story so that the perpetrators can be caught. Lucy seems to accept what has happened.

A tragic story with irony. Philosophical lesson are sporadically seen about. The prose makes this book easy to read.… (more)

He just doesn't get it!

The He in question is David Lurie a college lecturer in the university of Cape Town in South Africa. A white male of 52 years old who sees himself as a sort of Byronic figure. He readily uses his power and position to satisfy his sexual needs; only now as he gets older his main concern is that he may be losing his appeal. He has always been disgraceful, but when he seduces a 20 year old female student of his, he faces the wrath of an investigating committee, after her family make a formal complaint. He readily admits his guilt, agrees that he has done wrong, but sees no reason why he should apologise or seek help. He will lose his job and his reputation, but sees no reason to change his behaviour. When faced with a more difficult position when his daughter is raped and he is beaten up, he still demonstrates that he has a total inability to see another persons point of view or 'walk in their shoes'. He is selfish, egotistical and remains so until the end of the novel. He just doesn't get it. This is not a bildungsroman.

This novel published in 1999 won Coetzee his second Booker prize and in my opinion it was a very worthy winner, because not only is it a good extremely well written story, it throws up so many themes and issues around post colonial Africa, women's equality and even animal rights in just over 200 pages, that it could keep college lecturers in employment until the end of this century (assuming they could keep their sex in their pants or their knickers, while at work). There have been many fine reviews, analysis and expositions of the story line and so I don't want to add another one to the list, but there have also been many thoughts expressed that I think are wrong headed. In my opinion this is not a book that shows, or even hints at, some sort of redemption for David Lurie. He is clearly a man out of his time. This is important because as a reader we see almost everything through David Luries' eyes, although it is written in the third person. Lucy his daughter cannot explain to him, her fears and concerns after the attack, because she knows he will not be able to grasp the reasons that she behaves the way she does. He will only make it worse. He will not understand. He will not get it. It is best that he keeps himself occupied with his pointless attempts to write an opera on Byron's final years. Just because he shows empathy towards an injured dog in the final paragraph of the book doesn't mean he is on the path towards redemption.

A brilliant novel 5 stars.… (more)