A review by ombraluce
The Schooldays of Jesus by J.M. Coetzee

2.0

There are books that you need to read twice to penetrate beneath the surface. This is the case with "The Schooldays of Jesus", which I read for the first time five years ago and promptly forgot, as I do with books I don't like. I reread it by chance and this time, although I was not entirely satisfied with it, I received a different impression. The obvious parallel with the Christian Holy Family deviates more and more as the story goes on. Characters blur, morph into the background of the parable of the growth of St. Joseph/Simon, who eventually becomes the only one able to connect with the stars.

(Old review)
I'll be honest: I didn't understand anything. I didn't understand who are Simon, David and Ines, although I suppose, given the title of the novel, the fact that they say that those are not their real names, and being Simon a foster father, that there is a bland recall of the Holy Family. Then a Spanish speaking country like Egypt? Maybe. Sure that as a reincarnation of Child Jesus David is intolerable and very little iconographical. Even Ines as Holy Virgin leaves much to be desired, while Simon is more in character. So that history don't work, the characters are fake as a three euro coin, and it is unclear why Coetzee has felt the need to tell it. The tragedy is that it is written beautifully.
Thank Random House UK, Vintage Publishing and Netgalley for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.