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jennareadsbooks 's review for:
Disgrace
by J.M. Coetzee
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was in a mood for award winners recently, so I picked up Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee, which won the Booker Prize in 1999. Coetzee also went on to win the Nobel Prize. This is a difficult book for me to “review” (if that’s what I’m doing), because I didn’t really enjoy reading it, and while reading it I wasn’t able to make the connections that seem to be the point of the book. After I read this book, I read quite a few articles and reviews of it, and saw that I totally missed major parallels between plot points, and I didn’t have the contextual understanding of the political environment at the time it was set to be able to really fully appreciate it.
I often like books with unlikable, even morally reprehensible, characters, but David is one of the most misogynistic characters I’ve read. I’ve also liked lots of books with distanced writing styles, so I can’t quite nail down why this book didn’t work for me. While I read it, I didn’t feel emotional. I just felt impatient and irritated, like the book was just a vessel for what Coetzee was trying to say about South Africa, and not a story that I actually wanted to read.
I want to be a person who reads “smart” books and picks up on allegories about the place where they’re set, and notices the parallels that put ideas at feelings at odds, and understands the resulting turmoil. This book felt like it was over my head, though. When I realized where this story was going, I wanted to feel something beyond apathy. I wanted to feel hurt and angry and confused and instead I felt like it was a chore to keep reading. Maybe looking back at this book over 20 years after it was published clouds my view. I can no longer feel much of anything besides disgust for men like David.
After reading more about this book, I felt like I could appreciate it more and see why it won prizes and is so respected. Unfortunately it was just not effective for me as a reader. I’m not sure if I’ll read more Coetzee in the future, but if I do, I definitely plan to learn more about what I’m getting into ahead of time to make sure I’ve set the scene for myself, to better set myself up for success in understanding.
I often like books with unlikable, even morally reprehensible, characters, but David is one of the most misogynistic characters I’ve read. I’ve also liked lots of books with distanced writing styles, so I can’t quite nail down why this book didn’t work for me. While I read it, I didn’t feel emotional. I just felt impatient and irritated, like the book was just a vessel for what Coetzee was trying to say about South Africa, and not a story that I actually wanted to read.
I want to be a person who reads “smart” books and picks up on allegories about the place where they’re set, and notices the parallels that put ideas at feelings at odds, and understands the resulting turmoil. This book felt like it was over my head, though. When I realized where this story was going, I wanted to feel something beyond apathy. I wanted to feel hurt and angry and confused and instead I felt like it was a chore to keep reading. Maybe looking back at this book over 20 years after it was published clouds my view. I can no longer feel much of anything besides disgust for men like David.
After reading more about this book, I felt like I could appreciate it more and see why it won prizes and is so respected. Unfortunately it was just not effective for me as a reader. I’m not sure if I’ll read more Coetzee in the future, but if I do, I definitely plan to learn more about what I’m getting into ahead of time to make sure I’ve set the scene for myself, to better set myself up for success in understanding.