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Review
"An outstanding achievment." --Nadine Gordimer
"A major work of crystalline intensity." --Los Angeles Times
"So purifying to the senses that one comes away feeling that one's eye has been sharpened, one's hearing vivified." --The New York Times Book Review
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
"A major work of crystalline intensity." --Los Angeles Times
"So purifying to the senses that one comes away feeling that one's eye has been sharpened, one's hearing vivified." --The New York Times Book Review
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Book Description
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.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
An insightful story,
By Mikhail "mike" (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Life and Times of Michael K (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
5.0 out of 5 stars
A solid five stars,
By C.W. (White Horse) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Life and Times of Michael K (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.
5.0 out of 5 stars
An insightful story,
By Mikhail "mike" (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Life and Times of Michael K (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.
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