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sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
4.0
Of all the three in series 'Scenes from a Provincial life', this was the one I had highest hopes from. Because this was the book that would relate to the period in his life when he was actually writing novels - and so, closer or in the period of his greatness. It was disappointing - because author actually increased the distance from his person by trying to see himself from point of view of other people.
The diary entries in the begining and the end might be truthful but the interviews in the middle seemed all made unless Coetzee had come up with an idea of time travel or inter-dimension travel, written as they are, as interviews of some of people once close to C. by a fictional biographer after C's death. Now this kind of thing presents more than one kind of issue. First, none of the people in general and women in particular interviews have been taken seemed to like Coetzee a lot. One wonders whether Coetzee isnt making their opinions of himself too critical (something common with first two instalments of this series too)
Secondly, they probably won't be as honest to make the admissions even if Coetzee was to die. Thirdly, with most writers, it seems to me, the best part is their inner lives which is not available to observation of outsiders:
Coetzee seems to be labouring under the idea - common to so many idealist intellectuals (loners, more-or-less self created ones; as against university-created institutional intellectuals) that they do not belong to the world. That their inability to behave 'normally' (to imitate the social ways) make them unlikeable to others - which isn't always true or Coetzee wouldn't have ever become a famous author. It is a shame that he must so orignal a person should have so low an opinion of himself. It hardly seems to make him a very good autobiographer.
But that being said, he is still a very good writer with orignal ideas and ways of looking at the world and this shows up on this book too.
On convenience racism
"Breytenbach left the country years ago to live in Paris, and soon thereafter queered his pitch by marrying a Vietnamese woman,that is to say, a non-white, an Asiatic. He not only married her but, if one is to believe the poems in which she figures, is passionately in love with her. Despite which, says the Sunday Times, the Minister in his compassion will permit the couple a thirty-day visit during which the so-called Mrs Breytenbach will be treated as a white person, a temporary white, an honorary white."
Other Quotes
"No one is immortal. Books are not immortal. The entire globe on which we stand is going to be sucked into the sun and burnt to a cinder. After which the universe itself will implode and disappear down a black hole. Nothing is going to survive, not me, not you, and certainly not minority-interest books about imaginary frontiersmen in eighteenth-century South Africa."
"But to the barbarians, as Zbigniew Herbert has pointed out, irony is simply like salt: you crunch it between your teeth and enjoy a momentary savour; when the savour is gone, the brute facts are still there."
"Music isn't about fucking,' I went on. 'Music is about foreplay. It's about courtship. You sing to the maid
The diary entries in the begining and the end might be truthful but the interviews in the middle seemed all made unless Coetzee had come up with an idea of time travel or inter-dimension travel, written as they are, as interviews of some of people once close to C. by a fictional biographer after C's death. Now this kind of thing presents more than one kind of issue. First, none of the people in general and women in particular interviews have been taken seemed to like Coetzee a lot. One wonders whether Coetzee isnt making their opinions of himself too critical (something common with first two instalments of this series too)
"Pragmatism always beats principles; that is just the way things are. The universe moves, the ground changes under our feet; principles are always a step behind. Principles are the stuff of comedy. Comedy is what you get when principles bump into reality. I know he had a reputation for being dour, but John Coetzee was actually quite funny. A figure of comedy. Dour comedy. Which, in an obscure way, he knew, even accepted. That is why I still look back on him."
Secondly, they probably won't be as honest to make the admissions even if Coetzee was to die. Thirdly, with most writers, it seems to me, the best part is their inner lives which is not available to observation of outsiders:
"And how fortunate that most people, even people who are no good at straight-out lying, are at least competent enough at concealment not to reveal what is going on inside them, not by the slightest tremor of the voice or dilation of the pupil!"
Coetzee seems to be labouring under the idea - common to so many idealist intellectuals (loners, more-or-less self created ones; as against university-created institutional intellectuals) that they do not belong to the world. That their inability to behave 'normally' (to imitate the social ways) make them unlikeable to others - which isn't always true or Coetzee wouldn't have ever become a famous author. It is a shame that he must so orignal a person should have so low an opinion of himself. It hardly seems to make him a very good autobiographer.
But that being said, he is still a very good writer with orignal ideas and ways of looking at the world and this shows up on this book too.
On convenience racism
"Breytenbach left the country years ago to live in Paris, and soon thereafter queered his pitch by marrying a Vietnamese woman,that is to say, a non-white, an Asiatic. He not only married her but, if one is to believe the poems in which she figures, is passionately in love with her. Despite which, says the Sunday Times, the Minister in his compassion will permit the couple a thirty-day visit during which the so-called Mrs Breytenbach will be treated as a white person, a temporary white, an honorary white."
Other Quotes
"No one is immortal. Books are not immortal. The entire globe on which we stand is going to be sucked into the sun and burnt to a cinder. After which the universe itself will implode and disappear down a black hole. Nothing is going to survive, not me, not you, and certainly not minority-interest books about imaginary frontiersmen in eighteenth-century South Africa."
"But to the barbarians, as Zbigniew Herbert has pointed out, irony is simply like salt: you crunch it between your teeth and enjoy a momentary savour; when the savour is gone, the brute facts are still there."
"Music isn't about fucking,' I went on. 'Music is about foreplay. It's about courtship. You sing to the maid
savaging's review against another edition
4.0
Is this clear-sightedness? A splurge of white-man guilt? An extended humble-brag?
I'm so taken by Coetzee's ideas, that I'm also defensive of him against himself. He portrays himself through the minds of others as a bland, cold, awkward, limp fish of a person. Unpleasant, even repulsive. It almost feels spiteful. Too much, like someone crying boo hoo no one loves me, except in supreme detachment, cold and clear, to illustrate that no one can love him because he's supremely detached, cold and clear.
I'm so taken by Coetzee's ideas, that I'm also defensive of him against himself. He portrays himself through the minds of others as a bland, cold, awkward, limp fish of a person. Unpleasant, even repulsive. It almost feels spiteful. Too much, like someone crying boo hoo no one loves me, except in supreme detachment, cold and clear, to illustrate that no one can love him because he's supremely detached, cold and clear.
minusfigures's review against another edition
3.0
I found this to be a scathing attack on the self, made more so by the fact that its a fictionalised version of the self. How much self loathing can one man harbour?
somanybookstoread's review against another edition
4.0
What did I learn from this book? That I definitely need to read more Coetzee, but also that this wasn't the book to start with.
constantlymaya's review against another edition
2.0
I found myself in a bit of a reading slump, so I decided to turn to one of my all-time favourite authors, the incomparable J.M. Coetzee. His books are always deliciously strange, challenging, and disturbing puzzles that you can endlessly reread and pull apart. This is the third part of a trilogy he did, a set of very meta, semi-autobiographical novels. I haven’t read the first two, but I’ve read enough Coetzee to be able to enjoy the references to his body of work and the exploration of similar themes and motifs that his writing grapples with. However, if I hadn’t read any of his other books or studied him previously, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to make it even halfway through. This novel is partly clever and deft, in that Coetzee isn’t afraid of self-criticism and scrutiny, and he smartly and compelling plays with the concepts the construction of the author, as well as of the self. However, it definitely got ponderous and navel-gazing at certain parts, and it’s certainly a fragmented and non-cohesive text, by the very nature of how it’s structured. An interesting read for Coetzee devotees, and subtly rich in its own understated way, but not a knockout, and not one that I’d suggest as a starter text for someone unfamiliar with his work.
vivarimany95's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
octa's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lurdbeljan_1's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jayden_mccomiskie's review against another edition
5.0
Coetzee is not nice to himself in the conclusion to this trilogy...but this book is my favourite of the three.
andrew_russell's review against another edition
2.0
This tells the story of John Coetzee from the interesting perspective of several interviews with family and acquaintances he made during his lifetime. It also has a number of extracts from his notes at the end. It is fictional and I did find that what held it up was the unique aforementioned approach to writing a fiction book. It is not a novel, for it has no central plot. The characters only descriptions are in the imagination of the reader and arise from the interviews with others, rather than first hand.
While at first this possesses some novelty value,there are several characteristics of John Coetzee which are common in all the interviews. Once these are known, they are repeated, albeit through the means of descriptions given by several different individuals. While this could be seen as a strength in the book, I found it a weakness. It left me feeling that Coetzee was two dimensional and I could summon up neither sympathy or distaste for his character, due to a lack of concern on my part (due to boredom by the end of the book) as well as lack of information provided.
However, in spite of being rather dull the book had a strange hold over me and I found it exceptionally difficult to put down. I wasn't sure whether to give it 2 or 3 stars and in the end decided on 2 as, while the premise of the book was interesting, the book itself was not.
While at first this possesses some novelty value,there are several characteristics of John Coetzee which are common in all the interviews. Once these are known, they are repeated, albeit through the means of descriptions given by several different individuals. While this could be seen as a strength in the book, I found it a weakness. It left me feeling that Coetzee was two dimensional and I could summon up neither sympathy or distaste for his character, due to a lack of concern on my part (due to boredom by the end of the book) as well as lack of information provided.
However, in spite of being rather dull the book had a strange hold over me and I found it exceptionally difficult to put down. I wasn't sure whether to give it 2 or 3 stars and in the end decided on 2 as, while the premise of the book was interesting, the book itself was not.