I enjoyed reading the first few chapters of Disgrace, as they were captivating and intriguing, but I soon lost interest after Lurie broke up with Melanie and had to move in with Lucy, maybe because the juicy part of the book was over and the dry, philosophical part began, with Lurie trying to figure out what to with the rest of his life. I don’t really like Coetzee’s writing style, especially with all the allusions he makes, and the Latin/German phrases he uses. Chapter twenty was particularly difficult to get through because it is the part of the novel when Lurie is working on his Byron opera and he keeps paralleling it to his own life and he makes frequent references to one of Byron’s lovers, Teresa. I think that aspect of his writing limits his audience to literary scholars or connoisseurs. Also, he doesn’t go into detail about anything, and Lurie ponders over things briefly, which is reflected in the use of short sentences. The only thing I found smart was Coeztee’s use of the commas are in the first sentence of the book in that they slow down the pace of reading and introduce the basic information about David Lurie;
“For a man of his age, fifty-two, divorced, he has, to his mind, solved the problems of sex rather well.”
If Coetzee was trying to reflect on the situation of South Africa post-apartheid, I don’t think he went about it in the most effective way, except maybe for portraying the white guilt Lucy has as a result of the apartheid. Because it is written in the third person limited point of view, we are only privy to the emotions (even though his emotions are also limited) and thoughts of David Lurie. This makes it difficult for us, at first, to understand the reasons behind why Lucy adamantly refuses to report the rape.
Overall, I do not think it is a novel worthy of distinguished merit or a Booker Prize. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, unless perhaps they are ardent fans of Byron and would read any work in which he mentioned. It’s almost like an advertisement of other books, plays and poems and I think it would only interest poetry professors from South Africa. I appreciate that there must be something important I missed while reading and hope that after class discussions I can understand it more fully. Perhaps J.M Coetzee is a good writer- after all, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature (so there has to be something to him), but it’s safe to say, in my opinion, even though I haven’t read anything else by him, Disgrace is certainly not his best work.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I completely agree... The book did start of very intriguing and interesting, especially with all the 'juice' of his sexual intuitions. As for the author's writing style, and the abundant use of commas, I researched it. According to the research, it mentioned that that the narrator used a lot of commas to indicate David's uncertainty about his own life. It is really important that you mentioned the white guilt. Explaining how Lucy's emotions are not described by the narrator is necessary.
All in all you are right. Disgrace is like advertising for other poems and plays. I didn't think of that at all!
I'm sure that everyone else can agree with the fact that "the dry, philosophical part" of the novel was a much less interesting read than the "juicy" intrigue. The Latin/German (and you forgot to mention French) phrases David uses may be difficult to understand and need research at times but this is an important aspect of Lurie's personality as he must be portrayed as an knowledgeable and educated man. Using a multitude of languages to express oneself shows exactly that. It is important that you noted the theme of white guilt which explains Lucy's strange behavior. I must say I don't quite understand how Disgrace is "almost like an advertisement of other books, plays and poems". But how? Also, thinking that it "would only interest poetry professors from South Africa" cannot be true since it Coetzee has received international acclaim for his novel. Just because us students weren't able to appreciate it doesn't mean that it is restricted to South African readers.
It's no surprise that I, like the rest of the class, agree with what you said since we all wrote the same thing. The first part is more enjoyable for us to read since it is easy to comprehend for the most part and contains juicy events which rapidly unfold. The second part of the novel needs some background information concerning Lord Byron. A person who is knowledgeable and appreciates the opera would enjoy the novel more than a high school student whose knowledge is still very limited. The unusual style of writing reflects Lurie's character. The use of commas, like Beyhan said, reflects David's uncertainty about his own life. The use of German, Latin, and French phrases shows that Lurie is an intellectual. I have to disagree with what you said about the novel being an advertisement for other plays and poems. The novel mentions some works written by poets around a hundred years ago more or less, but I doubt anyone will read all these works after reading this novel.
I really enjoyed reading your reflection on the novel "Disgrace" it was very comprehensive. I think everyone would agree that the "juicy part" at the the beginning grasped our attention and that the part where David talks about Lord Byron was difficult especially since most of us are not familiar with Lord Byron's history therefore we werent able to see a clear parallel to Davids life.However after I read about Lord Byron's history I was able to see the connection between his life and with that of David Lurie.
I personally dont think that its "like an advertisement of other books, plays and poems"..not knowing about Lord Byrons history and about the other allusions mentioned in the novel might make the novel confusing at first, but after researching about them one can see the parallel and will understand the significance of them being mentioned in the novel.
Post a Comment