The Childhood of Jesus
by J. M. Coetzee · first published 2013
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2HN commenters
2016–2018first – last mentioned
50% recommend50% critical
After crossing oceans, a man and a boy arrive in a new land. Here they are each assigned a name and an age, and held in a camp in the desert while they learn Spanish, the language of their new country. As Simon and David they make their way to the relocation centre in the city of Novilla, where officialdom treats them politely but not necessarily helpfully. Simon finds a job in a grain wharf. The work is unfamiliar and backbreaking, but he soon warms to his stevedore comrades, who during breaks conduct philosophical dialogues on the dignity of labour, and generally take him to their hearts
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I've been reading a lot of JM Coetzee. Most recently The Life and Times of Michael K, and The Childhood of Jesus. He seems to have an incredible knack for both the unsettling, and the compassionate. It's close to the most thought provoking fiction I've ever read.
on “Ask HN: 2018 Summer Reading List?” ↗> I like to think that Finnehans Wake was an elaborate practical joke aimed at the literary establishment. This is how I feel about the two books by J.M. Coetzee[1] I've read, Disgrace and The Childhood of Jesus, minus the 'elaborate' part, they're simply practical jokes, and wholly unremarkable. A bit like Jean Micheal Basquiat's art. That's not art, it's a fucking joke. Coetzee must be having a good chuckle…
on “What to Make of Finnegans Wake? (2012)” ↗