Winner of the 1999 Booker Prize
J.M. Coetzee's work includes Waiting for the Barbarians, Life & Times of Michael K, Boyhood, Youth, Disgrace, Summertime and The Childhood of Jesus. He was the first author to win the Booker Prize twice and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003.
What is remarkable about Coetzee’s vision as a novelist is that it
remains intensely human, rooted in common experience and replete
with failure, doubt and frustration
*Guardian*
Exhilarating... One of the best novelists alive
*Sunday Times*
What is remarkable about Coetzee's vision as a novelist is that it
remains intensely human, rooted in common experience and replete
with failure, doubt and frustration * Guardian *
Exhilarating... One of the best novelists alive * Sunday Times *
The "disgrace" of the title belongs to David Lurie, a white, middle-aged professor at Cape Technical University in South Africa whose tenure at the school includes a light class load and heavy liaisons with coeds. His latest affair ends badly when the girl's parents and boyfriend pressure the administration to fire him. He concedes guilt but not remorse and withdraws to his daughter Lucy's farm. David admires Lucy's independence but worries about her living alone in the country. When three black thugs known to Lucy attack the farm, raping her and injuring David, his fears are confirmed. Coetzee devotes much of the story to David's attempt to understand the attack and Lucy's refusal to leave the farm. This novel is never less than compelling owing to his gift for placing multifaceted characters in convincing dilemmas. As flawed as David and Lucy may be, readers will want them to overcome their trials. This also provides much food for thought on the concepts of ownership, victimization, and compassion. Highly recommended. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/99; this book was bumped from February 2000 to November 1999 after winning this year's Booker Prize.]--Marc A. Kloszewski, Indiana Free Lib., PA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
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