Books by J. M. Coetzee

J.M. Coetzee, The Pole .

1. The Childhood of Jesus , by J.M. Coetzee.  Two-thirds of this is superb, although as a whole it doesn’t quite hang together.  It’s still much better than most of what is published.

5. Novels : My favorite Coetzee is Disgrace , though I like most of them very much, including the early Life and Times of Michael K and Waiting for the Barbarians and the later semi-autobiographical works.  Nadine Gordimer I find unreadable, call the fault mine.  Same with Alan Paton.  A dark horse pick is Trionf . Agaat sits in my pile, waiting for the trip of the right length.

5. J.M. Coetzee, Summertime . I bought my copy up in Edmonton, where it is available for $32.99 or so.  I thought it was excellent, but also that few people will appreciate the extent to which the story centers around an autistic protagonist.