Simple narrative but a powerful story

Disgrace was recommended to me by a bookish fb friend several years ago. I was able to read it only this year, but it has left me awed and shocked.

On the surface, it is the simple story of a 52-year-old college professor’s fall from grace due to a sex scandal and the rape of his daughter resulting in an unwanted pregnancy. But between the lines, it is the story of the changing world of post-apartheid Africa.

David Lurie is a professor at Cape Technical University. He is 52, twice divorced, and has created a comfortable life for himself in Cape Town. All these changes when he seduces one of his students, which results in him losing his job and leaving him disgraced. He takes refuge in his lesbian daughter’s farm. However, a brutal attack on her daughter leaves her pregnant. He is shocked. His inability to take action against assailants and his daughter’s decision to carry the child of the assailant to term leaves him further disgraced.

Throughout the book, Coetzee has used the events of Lurie’s life and symbols such as dogs and the opera to write and to discuss many things. We see how David’s vanity disappears and his self-awareness increases. We see the generation gap. We see how the dynamics are changing in post-apartheid South Africa. We also see how the older generation struggles to accept the changes while the young have accepted and endures them.

This book left me awed and shocked. It is a powerful book written in simple, sober manner.

Recommended to anyone interested in a good literary fiction.