Saturday, March 29, 2008
Reaction to "Disgrace"
I found the novel, "Disgrace" to be quite entertaining and enlightening to the paramount issues in South Africa such as the racial segregation caused by the Apartheid legislation. The events were laconic and interesting in most parts of the book which motivated me to read further. The novel touches upon the racial discrimination that was occurring in South Africa in the 90s through some of its characters. This troubling issue and call for awareness, I admired most in the story. Though despite the sensitive topics discussed, I don't see how, based on my understanding of the theme(s), this novel acquired international acclaim. When I heard that it was so famous, I knew that there had to be a deeper meaning in the book's context than just cliché racism issues. Also, I do not think it should be one of the few books we study to gain academic knowledge. I would recommend it for reading for fun but not part of a course's curriculum. I don't mean to be a pessimist about the overall theme and its influence on the audience but I found myself not moved by the negative ending the author has chosen.
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I'm not sure whether you appreciated the theme chosen by Coeztee or not since you begin your post by claiming that you "admired" that "most in this story" then add that you couldn't see the depth to the "cliché racism issues" brought up. Racial discrimination isn't clichéed as it's a critical part of their history. I have to agree that this novel isn't one to be read for academic purposes since it isn't related to our history but should be read for leisure or maybe for a better understanding of recent South African history. It is good that you realize "there had to be a deeper meaning in the book's context" than what you were able to assimilate from one reading. Since we haven't studied this book in depth, it is unlikely that we've touched on these topics. Your verdict can't be final until having studied it further.
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