J.M. Coetzee’s masterpiece Disgrace was first published in 1999 and won the Booker Prize in that year. It has been printed and reprinted many times and will surely remain in print for many years to come; such is its popularity. Red Owl Books often has stock of this book. If you would like to purchase, please check our site for availability.
Set in post-apartheid South Africa, the protagonist of the book is David Lurie, a university professor and ladies’ man. Lurie, once a professor of modern languages, has been reduced to adjunct professor in communications after budget cuts forces the closure of his much-loved department. Lurie is then a man dejected. In my opinion, he fills that feeling of emptiness with sexual conquests.
We meet Lurie through a discussion of his relationship with a sex worker, Soraya, and his infatuation with her. He soon thereafter meets one of his students, Melanie Isaacs, by chance outside the university one day, and that’s where the trouble starts. Lurie, a man in his fifties, embarks on the seduction of a young girl and his student at that.
The girl is at first willing, but in subsequent sexual encounters with Lurie, shows distaste for him. And then, enter the boyfriend, whose influence may have caused her to lay a complaint against Lurie to the university. He is then duly charged with harassment and misconduct. Surprisingly, Lurie refuses to defend himself and immediately pleads guilty. The panel handling his case urges him to defend himself; but he refuses. Lurie is aware that his life has now changed completely; given such a ‘disgrace’. He wants the inquiry over as quickly as possible; and is subsequently dismissed.
During the inquiry, Lurie makes an important statement: “You have in mind a ban on intimacy across the generations?” In making this comment, it might be that Coetzee is forcing us to question this situation from another angle. Is it really harassment and misconduct? How much of a misdemeanour is sex across the generations? The girl after all did consent.
After the dismissal, Lurie decides to visit his daughter Lucy, a lesbian, who lives alone on a farm in the Eastern Cape. Lucy is assisted on the farm by Petrus, a proud new black landowner, who is also her neighbour. Lurie and Lucy are later attacked on the farm by three black males. Lucy is raped, and Lurie is burnt and locked up in the toilet.
This is the second occurrence of the theme of sexual misconduct. Lucy refuses to discuss what happened to her, even though it is apparent to all. During the aftermath of this event, Lurie describes this as what women undergo at the hands of men – a very poignant description of the themes of this book.
We are also introduced to Bev Shaw, married to Bill Shaw, a friend of Lucy’s who runs an animal shelter and clinic. Lurie decides to volunteer at the clinic, and an affair occurs between him and Bev Shaw; another instance of sexual misconduct – this time that of an extra-marital affair. There is no resistance from Bev Shaw, the misconduct is that it is an extra-marital affair.
In the meantime, Lurie tries to convince Lucy to leave the farm and return to the city or go away overseas and do something else with her life. Lucy refuses, and subsequently even agrees to an alliance with Petrus, who offers her protection, after it is discovered that one of her assailants is his relative.
Through his writings Coetzee is an animal rights activist, and it is a recurring theme in some of his novels, e.g. Elizabeth Costello. We see this in this novel through the work of Bev Shaw at the animal clinic, as well as the treatment of animals by the local community. Coetzee describes in detail the act of putting down an animal, which may well leave you in tears. The novel ends with Lurie having to put down a dog he developed a soft spot for whilst working at the clinic.
Disgrace, although jarring and uncomfortable to read, is perhaps J.M. Coetzee’s most outstanding work. Coetzee is one of South Africa’s most important writers, and I highly recommend you read this novel.
