Disgrace by J.M.Coetzee: A review

Disgrace won the Booker in 1999; it was J.M. Coetzee’s second Booker and was followed by the Nobel Prize in literature being bestowed upon him. He is a writer of the highest pedigree and immense skill. This novel glows with such aesthetic beauty that you are left with a wonderful sense of blithe satisfaction after a reading. It is about David Lurie, Professor of Communications at Cape Technical University in South Africa - a sensual man, a disciple of the romantic poets, Wordsworth in particular. He is over fifty but his passion for women is undimmed. He has had two wives, but has not been successful in those relationships. Unheeded indulgence of his passions is the way out for him. But when his gaze turns to 18-year old Melanie Isaacs, it is only time before trouble erupts. This is a conservative South African University after all, not given to tolerating the escapades of elderly professors. The scandal that hits him, notwithstanding Melanie’s own role in the fling, uproots him from the University. He would rather quit than beg for forgiveness for a guilt he cannot feel.

That takes him to his daughter Lucy, who lives a peasant’s life on a farm in the Eastern Cape. But the South Africa of the day, in spite of Mandela’s reconciliation, is a place where history has taken an ugly turn. Suddenly, the former oppressed have tasted power; and some would be only too willing to wield it against their previous masters. As it is, Lucy and David’s worldviews clash. But when an act of horrifying brutality rips apart their life, the chasm between them is opened wide. Lurie no longer has the luxury of continuing his old ways. He cares about his daughter too much, though often they don’t see eye to eye. Lurie must change himself and in the process, he must also redeem himself. He must find answers if he has to live with honour. He must learn to be humble and to accept the realities of life. Along the way, he must also find a reason to live.

Coetzee’s prose is never pompous, but graceful, silky and even, at times, melodious. The scenes are set alight by a descriptive ability which always enthralls the imagination. The narrative grips you throughout. His intuitive grasp of the atmospherics of a scene lets conflicting strands of thought brew together until they are ready to explode. And that is handled with the skill of a master artist, who knows the way to tell a beautiful story. It is a work of exceptional power and aesthetic beauty.