Disgrace

Rating:
Summary: Not a happy ending, but a satisfying read
Review: Once I started this stark and somewhat disturbing short novel, I couldn't put it down and well understand how it won the fiction prizes that it did. J.J. Coetzee, the author, is a white South African and brings the reader right into his world. The protagonist is David Lurie, a 52 year old English professor at a university in Capetown. Twice divorced, he leads a solitary life, indulging his rather mild sexual appetite with prostitutes. When he has an affair with a student, he is discovered and disgraced. Rather than make a public repentance, he resigns.

This background takes up about a quarter of the novel, but it only sets the stage for what comes next as Lurie then goes to spend some time with his grown daughter in the countryside. She lives alone, raising dogs and selling produce and her life seems simple but satisfactory. Suddenly, there is an act of violence which turns their lives around. Lurie is forced to understand still more aspects of the concept of disgrace as well as place all of this in the context of what is happening in modern South Africa in the area of race relations.

David Lurie is not a likeable character. And yet he's a human being with all the warts and foibles that make him real. The author's clear prose manages to unveil many levels of meaning as the reader becomes involved in the story. There wasn't a wasted word, each scene saying much more than the action revealed. Every minor character had a purpose, including the animals in a shelter where Lurie volunteers his time. This is not a happy book but the reading of it was very satisfying. When it ended I wasn't smiling, but I felt I had gained a deeper understanding of human nature as well as a snapshot of life in South Africa today.

Rating:
Summary: A rare breed
Review: 'Disgrace' is the type of novel that only comes along occasionally but leaves a hell of an impact when it has finally finished tearing your emotions to shreds. Filled to the brim with disillusionment, apathy and anti-establishment politics, this tale will most certainly bring about the urge to drag that soap-box out of the cupboard but ultimately leaves the reader questioning themselves. Set against a South Africa that is still emerging from the near self-destructive political divisions that overshadow it this seems to be a comment on the ideas of responsibility and moral judgement, as well as generational conflict.

David Lurie is a 52yr old Professor whose academic and social career is slowly declining, reflected in his demotion from Professor of Modern Languages at Cape Town University College to the ultra-modern Professor of communications at Cape Technical University. A subtle difference it may be but it also reflects the growing boredom displayed by students in his seminar as he tries desperately to seek out the creative pulse within a decaying body. Twice divorced but with no shortage of desire, Lurie initiates a brief but invigorating affair with one of his students until he is outed by her father and boyfriend.

What follows this is vintage Coetzee as Lurie refuses to repent for the affair therefore whilst he submits to the 'legalities', his sense of morality remains untainted. Given the acrimony surrounding his conduct, Lurie leaves to live with his daughter in the sparse, rural area of South Africa. It is here that he discovers a totally different world in which urban prejudices are rejected in favour of strained harmony between the white and black workers. Whilst his daughter lives with her female partner, she employs Petrus, a black worker who is effectively trying to gain financial control of the farm. It is at this point that the dialogue and characters' interplay reflects growing tension and discontent which is the usual mark of a 'good' Coetzee novel.

As if he was lulling the reader into a false sense of security, out of the desert countryside come a group of thieves and rapists who attack Luthrie and his daughter. It is at this point that the different attitudes to 'disgrace' become apparent, when it seems that Luthrie's daughter cannot bring about any legal proceedings since the reprisals will be far worse. As father and daughter conflict the reader becomes aware that this could easily be a novel that is looking back at them, rather than us looking at the novel.

It's impossible to consider all the implications of what is, undoubtedly, a tremendous work of fiction. At times this is harrowing, other times pedestrian but the quality is always maintained and it is this consistency that has led Coetzee to two wins in the Booker Prize. I can't praise or recommend this enough and it's worth reading in tandem with In the Heart of the Country which deals with similar issues in an equally powerful form.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, grandiose, exhilarating
Review: You will be interested in this novel if you are interested in South Africa's contemporary history. The story is about David Lurie, a white ageing professor at the Technical University of Cape Town, who gets suspended after having an affair with one of his students. He stays at his daughter's place where the two of them are robbed and raped. David gets tied up in his daughter's business on her farm but he fails to solve their problems.

Throughout the novel the aspect of disgrace plays a major role. Coetzee succeeds in providing a multilayered insight into the characters as well as into South African society. So if you are interested in the country and if you have a certain degree of background knowledge you will enjoy interpreting the novel on a personal and historical level.

We found the novel tremendously thrilling. Coetzee is a master of suspense and intellectual wit.

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant novel!
Review: This was my first Coetzee novel, but it won't be my last. Coetzee is a splendid writer, and the book certainly deserves its Booker prize.

"Disgrace" is the story of David Lurie, the 52 year old professor of English, whom seduces one of his students. He gets caught, and partly through his own pride, he loses his job. After loosing his job, Lurie moves in with his estranged daughter who has a small farm and runs a boarding service for dogs in the countryside of South Africa. Here they experience a brutal assault, and while the grief and shame of the event should have brought them closer together, they're driven even further apart.

"Disgrace" ties together two stories: the first dealing with the difficulties of David Lurie, and the second dealing with the change in South Africa, with the end of apartheid. Coetzee's ability to link private pain to the complication of politics is excellent, and engaging.

This is a phenomenal book, timely and well written. We are introduced to a topic which those of us who are not South Africans, will probably never quite understand.

A great read!

Rating:
Summary: Sharp and cold like a knife
Review: I have little knowledge, much less any understanding, of South African history and yet, I come away from this book knowing that Coetzee is saying a lot of things about the state of the country and its people. What's more impressive is his doing so in very spare and lucid prose that often cuts right into the difficult issues. Yet, I had to read and re-read many passages, notably the dialogue between David Lurie and his daughter Lucy, to appreciate the characters and the multiple interpretations that the novel suggests. But for the same reason, the writing comes off rather cold and distant, and there's nothing in the ending to suggest any hope for David Lurie or the South African people at large. I also have one question: why does Lucy keep the baby and accept Petrus' protection instead of moving away? Does she do this just to spite her father? Or is it an expression of her independence as a child and as a woman? Notwithstanding, the book succeeds as an intelligent allegory of the South African struggle to come to terms with its history and is more deserving of the Booker Prize than the previous winner "Amsterdam" by Ian McEwan.

Rating:
Summary: Exploring Possibilities
Review: "Disgrace" is a very well written and powerful story that can be as simple as a love affair turned sour or as complicated as a musing on race relations in a post- Apartheid South Africa. The main character is David Lurie, a middle-aged professor who looses his career due to an affair with one of his young student. Once the student's parents learn of the affair, the university is notified and charges are brought against the professor. During a highly publicized - yet closed - hearing, David pleads guilty to the charges but refuse to admit wrong doing or demonstrate remorse for his behavior. The professor believes that at the base of his actions is an unexplainable impulse that is beyond his control. "Our paths crossed," he explained; "Words passed between us, and at that moment something happened, which, not being a poet, I will not try to describe. Suffice it to say that Eros entered. After that, I was not the same."

The author parallels the life of Professor Lurie with that of Lord Byron, the eighteenth century romantic poet. Not only does Professor Lurie's life resemble that of Bryon's (including a physical deformity), but throughout the novel, Professor Lurie is working on an opera based on the love affair between Bryon and Teresa Guicciolo. Interweaving the life of the great poet with that of the main character serves as one example of Coetzee's very skilled writing abilities. Although you need not be familiar with the life of Lord Byron for this storyline to work, you may find yourself doing some quick internet research on Byron. A little background on Byron provided me with a deeper appreciation of the Professor Lurie character.

Refusing to offer any sort of contrition for his behavior, or what motivated it, David is fired from his position at the university. His peers and the Cape Town community are disgraced by his behavior. The righteous indignation with which he is treated forces him to retreat to his daughter's (Lucy) home in a rural village named Grahamstown. It is within this storyline that Coetzee reflects on South African race relations post- Apartheid. Lucy is a new generation white South African whose lifestyle in the farming community is vastly different from the life her father would have her lead. Lucy lives among indigenous South Africans and prefers her life as kennel keeper and garden grower to the city life that David has lived. She is a minimalist, content to earn a simple living that affords her both peace of mind and solitude. During David's stay with Lucy, they are the victims of a robbery where David is set ablaze and Lucy is raped. Lucy's and David's response to this violation contains powerfully symbolic representations of South Africa during and after Apartheid. Within the context of the sexual assault, Coteez explores the aftermath that rape - of a country or a person - has on the assaulted. He examines the extent to which it is possible for the raped and the rapists to reconcile. This storyline is fused with subtle and open language that allows the reader to extract a level of meaning much deeper than the surface story being told.

"Disgrace" is an accomplished novel that demonstrates the possibilities inherent in reconciliation and change. It contains much more than the size of the book implies. This is a great read for group discussion. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Enchanting book, lonely and haunting
Review: Coetzee's book Disgrace is about the life of a Professor of Languages in South Africa is one of the most haunting tales. As in all of his books, the main character is a loner who lives a simple life. There are deeper implications in a person's life as is the case of David Lurie. When he has an affair with his student and is discovered, he refuses to offer any excuses and is removed from his job. It is almost as though he is tempting fate as his life is going nowhere and he wishes to see what is in store for him. The book is beautiful in the way the tale changes direction here and he goes to live with his daughter.

One can see elements of Dostoyevsky in his book. When he lives with his daughter, she is sexually molested by three black people. However, she refuses to go to court and insists on marrying one of them. He is lost about it and comes back to town and meets the father of student he had the affair with. Ironically, his first name is Isaac. Put the two names together and you have "Isaac Luria" the kabbalist of the middle ages. Coetzee certainly was eclectic and this is no coincidence. Any novel of the post apartheid era South Africa has a political angle, but this one baffles the reader. Each chapter has Salvation and Ruin. It is sad and wonderful at the same time. The end of the novel is beautiful and one of the best.

Rating:
Summary: "Disgrace" was my disgrace
Review: This book is interesting on the one hand, but in the whole the reading has been an agony. Contents are very controversial in addition, excitingly. In a very aggressive way J.M. Coetzee represents the situation in the today's south Africa. Throughout the novel the characters represent certain issues, South Africa has to deal with nowadays. Therefore "Disgrace" is a recommendation to those who are interrested in the present South Africa and its time after the abolishment of apartheid.

Rating:
Summary: Lisa's and Philip's review
Review: Coetzee manages to portray the current situation in South Africa very well. He gives an inside view on the dilemma that white people face nowadays.
The characters presented in the novel symbolize different ways how to handle the difficult situation after apartheid. Discovering these solutions was very exciting and an interesting experience.
Coetzee offers the reader many opportunities to read between the lines, so that one might be willing to not only read the novel once.
Altogether we liked this shocking but also touching and realistic novel.

Rating:
Summary: Like spiders in a bottle
Review: A vibrant and many facetted story by one of todays most gifted authors. Coetzee offers several opportunities to deal with the delicate situation in South Africa a decade after the abolishment of apartheid. The reader can chose from a variety of methaporical images in order to accompolish his favourite solution. The self-absorbed and burnt-out scholar David Lurie shows no sensibility towards the mentality of the black population and gives in to the temptation of displacing his and the white mans disgrace by just leaving the country. The younger generation represented by his daughter Lucy seems to show more tolerance and stamina but has to make many sacrifices in order to establish a peaceful relationship between blacks and whites.
The period of redistribution has begun.