In a South Africa torn by civil war, Michael K sets out to take his mother back to her rural home. On the way there she dies, leaving him alone in an anarchic world of brutal roving armies. Imprisoned, Michael is unable to bear confinement and escapes, determined to live with dignity. Life and Times of Michael K goes to the centre of human experience -- the need for an interior, spiritual life, for some connections to the world in which we live, and for purity of vision.
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Review
"A strong and memorable novel" Guardian "It strikes deep inside the heart...The story is clean, clear, straight, the work of a mature imagination at full power...here is a book that will be celebrated for a long time" Mail on Sunday "This is a trule astonishing novel... I finished Life & Times of Michael K in a state of elation, for all the misery and suffering it contains. I cannot recommend it highly enough" Evening Standard "Beautifully written in a strong, plain, unpretentious style...distinguished by grim humour and powerful understatement" Sunday Express "The quality of Coetzee's writing lies in his inner vision: dark, passionately compassionate, concerned with the nature of man" Financial Times
About the Author
J.M. Coetzee is a professor of general literature at the University of Cape Town. He is the author of seven novels, including The Master of Petersburg, and of the memoir Boyhood: Scenes from Provincial Life. His many awards include the Booker Prize in 1983 for The Life & Times of Michael K, the Prix Femina and the Irish Times International Fiction Prize. J.M. Coetzee is the first author ever to be awarded two Booker Prizes.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By Greygoose
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
From the begining this novel lacked any unpredictability. The main character of the story Michael is definitely a man of reslience but I had a hard time being convinced of this.
By Mikhail
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Written at a time that Apartheid was still very strong, Coetzee gave a philosophical to life in that environment, which in this case is a surreal post-civil war South Africa with all the horrors that come with the aftermath of a civil war, especially an African civil war. However, Michael K. makes the effort to shield himself from the harshness of his environment by taking on a life of existential survival. In fact the lesson from this book applies to all environments or situations where society makes it difficult for a private person to live a personal life that is independent of the forces of the environment.
Other recommended reads: Disciples of Fortune, Disgrace, The usurper and Other Stories.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By C.W.
Format:Paperback
LIFE AND TIMES reminded me in many ways of two other books I've recently come across: Hosseni's KITE RUNNER and another book called THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD, both of which are great and riveting. But this neat little book about a slow-witted man in civil-war torn South Africa will really make you think. Michael K is part Huck Finn, part Rodya from "Crime and Punishment", part Gollum, and part Robinson Crusoe (and possibly, Josepf K from Kafka's "The Trial"). He takes on a characteristic of each of those characters during his adventure to get his mother back to the land of her youth. He has an uncomfortable relationship with food, and his struggle to feed himself is very odd indeed. After reading this book, I felt that I should build a cabin for myself far away from everyone else and create my own environment.
Want to see more reviews on this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 68 reviews
4.1 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
An insightful story
Written at a time that Apartheid was still very strong, Coetzee gave a philosophical to life in that environment, which in this case is a surreal post-civil war South Africa with... Read more
Published on Mar 8 2006 by Mikhail
3.0 out of 5 stars
review
Coetzee is razor-concise as ever, and elegantly combines many ideas into one person. I got a lot from the book's observations of a man in natural seclusion, growing into a purely... Read more
Published on Sep 14 2003 by A. Patteson
4.0 out of 5 stars
The delicate nature of being human
In a world flooded by turmoil and bereft of innocence, Michael K, simple, skeletal gardener and loyal son, stands alone. Read more
Published on April 5 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spare, clear as a diamond and a reminder we have choices
Each sentence uttered by Michael K, the anti-hero of this book, is the voice of sanity, understanding, compassion and truth in a book full of voices of hate and confusion. Read more
Published on Jan 10 2003 by "jenniferbraun"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Desertion
Like a character from Kafka, we never learn Michael K's last name. However, unlike Kafka's characters he chooses a different response to the oppresive society in which he finds... Read more
Published on Oct 1 2002 by Thomas M. Seay
4.0 out of 5 stars
Complex, Gripping, Excellent
J. M. Coetzee was awared the Booker Prize for this book back in 1983, so I had great expectations for this book. Read more
Published on Aug 27 2002 by Hilde Bygdevoll
5.0 out of 5 stars
Existence in 150 pages.
This book is perhaps the easier to read of Coetzee's but it is nonetheless not easy. This book captures so much of what it is to exist. Read more
Published on July 19 2002 by Joseph L. Soler II
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling Afternoon's Read
Read this the day after I read "Disgrace." Compelling, beautifully written, and the only book I've ever read to top "Angela's Ashes" in poverty and depression. Read more
Published on Jun 28 2002 by KaylingR
1.0 out of 5 stars
Awful
This book is only about 180 pages long, so you'd imagine I'd have no trouble finishing it. Unfortunately, no. Read more
Published on May 1 2002 by Gary Malone
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book!
I read Coetzee's "Disgrace" before I read this and I was instantly hooked on to his style of compassionate and insightful writing. Read more
Published on Mar 28 2002 by Aanand
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
