Disgrace- J M Coetzee

 The social order in South Africa is changing and you can pick it up even on a holiday. There is talk of danger, the unease is openly displayed and stories are told, retold and passed around.  There ‘race’ is not politically incorrect and nobody is hiding the anger or the fear.

But it took Coetzee Disgrace for me to really understand what was happening there- the extent of it, the politics of it and the weight of its history.

It is superfluous to talk of Coetzee narrative skills, his insights and his brilliant characters- so let’s consider them said.

Disgrace begins with the story of the sexually active professor of  Romantic Poetry David Lurie.  He has an affair with a student, an affair with strong over- tones of Lolita, an affair doomed to go wrong. It does and he is summoned to face a committee of inquiry. He admits his guilt but refuse to apologize for it and he is forced to resign.

He moves in with his daughter who is running a farm. They become victims of a violent and horrific attack, an attack with sinister implications. Coetzee explores the issues that are at the heart of south Africa’s socio-cultural-political climate of south Africa yet the story remains the tale, the journey and the struggle of a single man.

A brilliant book. It will leave you with a sense of discomfort, many questions and like all great writing many insights too.

©Maya