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J. M. Coetzee
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Disgrace: A BBC Radio 4 Good Read Paperback – 7 April 2000

by J.M. Coetzee (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 4,617 ratings
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After years teaching Romantic poetry at the Technical University of Cape Town, David Lurie, middle-aged and twice divorced has an impulsive affair with a student. The affair sours; he is denounced and summoned before a committee of inquiry. Willing to admit his guilt, but refusing to yield to pressure to repent publicly, he resigns and retreats to daughter Lucy's isolated smallholding.For a time, his daughter's influence and the natural rhythms of the farm promise to harmonise his discordant life. But the balance of power in the country is shifting. He and Lucy become victims of a savage and disturbing attack which brings into relief all the faultlines in their relationship.
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  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    VINTAGE ARROW - MASS MARKET
  4. Publication date
    7 April 2000
  5. Dimensions
    12.8 x 1.6 x 19.6 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    9780099289524
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0099289524
  8. See all details
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Product description

Review

What is remarkable about Coetzee’s vision as a novelist is that it remains intensely human, rooted in common experience and replete with failure, doubt and frustration ― Guardian

Exhilarating... One of the best novelists alive ― Sunday Times

Book Description

Winner of the 1999 Booker Prize

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0099289520
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ VINTAGE ARROW - MASS MARKET; 1st edition (7 April 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780099289524
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0099289524
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.8 x 1.6 x 19.6 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 4,617 ratings

About the author

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J. M. Coetzee

J. M. Coetzee

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J.M. Coetzee's work includes Waiting For the Barbarians, Life & Times of Michael K, Boyhood, Youth, Disgrace and Diary of a Bad Year. He was the first author to win the Booker Prize twice and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003.

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4 out of 5 stars
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4,617 global ratings

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Top reviews from Australia

Susan Jane
5.0 out of 5 stars A Challenging Book
Reviewed in Australia on 11 October 2015
Verified Purchase
Having recently read J.C. Kannemeyer's authorized biography J. M. Coetzee: A Life in Writing; I was inspired to re-read some of this author's books. Disgrace is set partly in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, around Salem, an area my paternal ancestors settled so I've always had a soft spot for this book. It is not an easy book to read because it is extremely challenging and thought provoking dealing with issues such as sexuality and aging, rape, post-apartheid life in South Africa during the 1990s, the abuse of power, redemption and how the past influences the present. The writing is fluent and lyrical executed with clinical​ precision by a master craftsman. This book won the Booker Prize in 1990; the second time J.M. Coetzee was awarded the prize; he previously won it in 1983 for Life and Times of Michael K.
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donald grant lister
4.0 out of 5 stars Special book
Reviewed in Australia on 3 October 2016
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D. H. Lawrence suggested reading a special book 6 times instead of reading 6 separate mediocre ones. Disgrace is on my little list of books to read 6 times(already read twice)
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning book
Reviewed in Australia on 1 June 2021
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This is a short book but in 200 pages JM Coetzee's intense, economical writing packs so much in covering modern South Africa, power and how it is used and how people learn and adapt as they lose power.
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Diogenes
4.0 out of 5 stars Menacing, Brilliant
Reviewed in Australia on 17 July 2017
A tightly-written portrait of an uncompromising man in middle-age decline, set against the backdrop of modern South Africa. the growing sense of menace and nihilism is almost unbearable - but brilliantly done.
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Top reviews from other countries

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FRANCY GUIMARÃES TEIXEIRA
5.0 out of 5 stars Melhor obra de literatura contemporânea em inglês
Reviewed in Brazil on 9 October 2023
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Obra fenomenal. Escrita forte e sensível. Sabia que Coetzee era bom mas achei maravilhoso. No original é sempre melhor. África do Sul. Prazer.
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Mr. D. Hinton
5.0 out of 5 stars Totally gripping novel, one plot development leading to another, and the conclsion is distressing.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 January 2024
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Don't do as I did, and finish the book the book late at night, because I was unable to sleep for at least an hour. Coetzee is a brilliant writer, I should have read him years ago. I will certainly be ordering more of his work.
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Karime Nava
5.0 out of 5 stars Es una gran historia
Reviewed in Mexico on 11 November 2020
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Woooow la historia, está muy bueno <3
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Kingdom_of_Tea
5.0 out of 5 stars Etwas für Kritischdenkende
Reviewed in Germany on 23 January 2021
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Südafrika ist schon ein spezielles Land, wo die Uhren ganz anders ticken. Dieser Roman hat es zumindest erwirkt, dass mir jede Menge kritische Fragen durch den Kopf gegangen sind und ich mir über vieles Gedanken gemacht habe, was wohl sonst nicht der Fall gewesen wäre. Es liest sich jedenfalls sehr flüssig und regt das Interesse an.
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Max
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece
Reviewed in Canada on 17 January 2019
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Disgrace is an example of how a novel can confront complex topics without being an “issues” kind of book, and tackles difficult personal issues with great compassion. Lurie is not given to us a conventionally likeable character, but for all his flaws he has an underlying decency. His daughter is a brilliant and fascinating character, and one of the great things about the novel is how all the characters have a certain unpredictability about them. An incredibly moving ending as well.
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