For a man of his age, fifty two, divorced, he has, to his mind, solved the problem of sex rather well.
Description:
J.M Coetzee in his novel Disgrace tells of the fall of one man, David Lurie, a language professor in a Cape Town, South Africa college. Lurie has an affair with a student and, unrepentant when discovered, is fired. His reputation destroyed, he must find another city and life.
Lurie seeks out his adult daughter Lucy on her small farm where she raises flowers and boards dogs. Their relationship is strained, but Lucy provides him a temporary home. Although Lurie knows nothing of farming and has little respect for the people in this town, he soon is pulled into reality of her world through a shocking attack on Lucy and her farm.
This is more than a story on bad decisions made by one man. Coetzee reveals the reality of sexual, racial, and political tensions in South Africa through the eyes and actions of Lurie as this outsider tries to settle into a new world and life. The people he meets and automatically disdains out of his own ego soon become major forces that challenge his mind-set and actions.
Lurie finds the people and this world foreign, inexplicable, and unnerving. Whether his daughter's determination to stay on her failing homestead, the unattractive local vet he has a relationship with, or the suspicious native manager of his daughter's land, Lurie is for the first time in his life uncertain of his decisions and judgments. His struggles to understand and fit into this daunting world, written in an austere, yet vivid style, make for a gripping read. An unforgettable experience.
Happy reading.
Lurie seeks out his adult daughter Lucy on her small farm where she raises flowers and boards dogs. Their relationship is strained, but Lucy provides him a temporary home. Although Lurie knows nothing of farming and has little respect for the people in this town, he soon is pulled into reality of her world through a shocking attack on Lucy and her farm.
This is more than a story on bad decisions made by one man. Coetzee reveals the reality of sexual, racial, and political tensions in South Africa through the eyes and actions of Lurie as this outsider tries to settle into a new world and life. The people he meets and automatically disdains out of his own ego soon become major forces that challenge his mind-set and actions.
Lurie finds the people and this world foreign, inexplicable, and unnerving. Whether his daughter's determination to stay on her failing homestead, the unattractive local vet he has a relationship with, or the suspicious native manager of his daughter's land, Lurie is for the first time in his life uncertain of his decisions and judgments. His struggles to understand and fit into this daunting world, written in an austere, yet vivid style, make for a gripping read. An unforgettable experience.
Happy reading.
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Dinesen, Isak Out of Africa
From the early 1900s, the author owned and managed a coffee farm in Kenya. Her experiences with lions, natives, and peers are exquisitely narrated in this book. It is full of passion, fear, bravery, and perseverance. Highest recommendation.
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