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A review by sanperse
Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I don't think I have ever felt so unwell after finishing a book. If there was to be catharsis at some point, I did not find it. In the end it just felt profoundly hopeless to me.
Perhaps it is because I cared more about Lucy than David (who is deliberately unlikable for large parts of the book). Lucy whose destiny, at its most kindest interpretation, is a metaphor, but on an individual level just a horror I did not wish to contemplate in so hopeless a fashion.
This is not to say it is a bad book. On the contrary - there were points, where I could've even seen myself giving it five stars. The relationship between David and his daughter was engaging, with all its struggles and the difficulties of navigating the changes in their positions. I also enjoyed the contemplation of how language is used and the pitfalls of (mis-)communication. Coetzee has a way with words, manages to make his protagonist feel tangible, and forces his readers to confront uncomfortable topics, without necessarily moralising about it. Much of the "work" is left for the reader to do, though this does leave one feeling unmoored at the end.
But I found myself impatient with the diversion to Byron in the latter third of the book, and the passage with Melanie's family grating and hard to believe. Additionally, I felt frustrated by how none of the problems in the story were resolved in the end. It may be realistic in some ways, and maybe emblematic also of the struggle of a contemporary South Africa to contend with its past, but on a personal level it left me wishing for something else.
Perhaps it is because I cared more about Lucy than David (who is deliberately unlikable for large parts of the book). Lucy whose destiny, at its most kindest interpretation, is a metaphor, but on an individual level just a horror I did not wish to contemplate in so hopeless a fashion.
This is not to say it is a bad book. On the contrary - there were points, where I could've even seen myself giving it five stars. The relationship between David and his daughter was engaging, with all its struggles and the difficulties of navigating the changes in their positions. I also enjoyed the contemplation of how language is used and the pitfalls of (mis-)communication. Coetzee has a way with words, manages to make his protagonist feel tangible, and forces his readers to confront uncomfortable topics, without necessarily moralising about it. Much of the "work" is left for the reader to do, though this does leave one feeling unmoored at the end.
But I found myself impatient with the diversion to Byron in the latter third of the book, and the passage with Melanie's family grating and hard to believe. Additionally, I felt frustrated by how none of the problems in the story were resolved in the end. It may be realistic in some ways, and maybe emblematic also of the struggle of a contemporary South Africa to contend with its past, but on a personal level it left me wishing for something else.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Rape, and Sexual assault