Book Review: "Disgrace" by J.M. Coetzee

J.M. Coetzee (1940- ) is a South African author and winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. His 1999 novel, Disgrace is the subject of this review.

Disgrace revolves around its main character, the college English professor David Lurie, who becomes disgraced after a sordid affair with a young female student. Lurie is forced out from his post at the South African university and chooses to go reside with his daughter on her farm rather than seek new employment. Just as Lurie became comfortable with rural life and forgetting about Cape Town, a shocking event forces both Lurie and his daughter to re-examine their lives.

Coetzee's enthralling characters are well enchanced by his use of minimalist language. The story that Coetzee tells in Disgrace feels much longer than the two hundred pages that the book contains. It's a powerful story that resonates within, even weeks after the first reading. And that's the hallmark of a great book, when the story still feels fresh within your mind weeks, months, or even years after you first read it. Re-reading those books are like catching up with old friends and reminiscing about the past.

Disgrace contains elements of the past, such as racism and moments of awful awkardness that every human can relate to. It uses the local setting of South Africa to tell a common story of humankind, that occured everywhere in the world at one point or another. And for that reason, this book becomes doubly powerful with its impact. The subject matter that it brings to the forefront is at its essence, uncomfortable.

It's very easy to identify with the characters in the book as living and breathing and that's because of Coetzee's storytelling ability. The only part of the book that isn't brilliantly handled by Coetzee would be the beginning of the book, where everything is awkwardly handled. This was probably done on purpose to increase the empathy that we have for David Lurie's disgracing. Plow through the book's beginning to reap the rewards of its middle and end, for those are well worth the plodding pace of the opening scenes.

I'm pleased to award Disgrace a very well deserved 9.0 out of a possible 10.0 points on my personal rating scale. But don't just take my word for it. It was also the winner of the 1999 Booker Prize. The Booker Prize is given annually to the best contemporary fiction book written in English by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations or the Republic of Ireland.* Some other previous winners of the Booker Prize include Life of Pi, which won in 2002 and The English Patient, a co-winner in 1992.*

J.M. Coetzee also won the Booker Prize previously, with Life & Times of Michael K in 1983. Coetzee is the first author to repeat as a Booker Prize winner, with Peter Carey (who won in 1988 and 2001) being the only other repeat winner.*

In closing, you're disgracing yourself if you don't read Disgrace! It's well worth the investment in terms of both time and money.

* - Data from Wikipedia, "Man Booker Prize" - Accessed April 7, 2007.- (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_prize)