J. M. Coetzee

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Inês Alegria Ferreira

Having only read one book by J.M. Coetzee, and being that one book the first component of a trilogy that I didn't even continue on reading (The Jesus Trilogy) I was really curious in reading a book by this author that had an end to it. I had heard plenty of good things about "Disgrace" so as soon as I found it in the library I had to pick it up. I would prefer to have read it in English but the library has mostly translation so I had to read a Portuguese translation. I wasn't bad at all though. I usually cringe a lot with Portuguese translations but the choice of words in this one sounded pretty good to me. I also read the first book from the Jesus Trilogy in Portuguese and again I found it to be pretty ok. Nevertheless, I am still in search of reading a book by this author written in his mother tongue.

I really really loved this book! The first thing that captivated me and eventually made me fell in love with the story was the super disturbing, sad, and depressing side of it. It is most likely that a few will disagree with me, but I find that usually, a story that really grasps me is everything but a happy story. Although obviously, a story can't just be sad and that's it. I actually think that they usually require the most intricate work, and J.M. Coetzee did that perfectly. His writing is just perfect when describing the main points of this story. I loved the characters that he built and how there is this constant feeling of uneasiness throughout the whole book. After reading this I found myself really stuck to it and constantly thinking about it. It is definitely one of those that will make you question concepts that perhaps never even crossed your mind before. 

If I think this book is for everyone? No. Especially if you completely disagree with what I said about shocking, weird, and depressing books being cool. There is a lot of disturbing moments and I would not advise if you are easily triggered by subjects like rape, death, etc. Nevertheless, I think it was a great book that I sure won't easily forget.

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