Reviews

Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee

yeshi's review against another edition

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5.0

I cringe; I recoil! I revel in it and its after thoughts. What an uncomfortable looming beauty this book is!
Disgrace touches upon a lot of themes - written in beauty and simplicity- of emotions and human relations, complexities, *needs* and societal structures in post-apartheid period - I am amused, sad and in love with the story. Recommended!

yeshi's review against another edition

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5.0

I cringe; I recoil! I revel in it and its after thoughts. What an uncomfortable looming beauty this book is!
Disgrace touches upon a lot of themes - written in beauty and simplicity- of emotions and human relations, needs, complexities, contrasts and societal structures in post-apartheid period - I am amused, uncomfortable and in love with the story. Recommended!

youk0101's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

squeegi's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a challenging book because it can be so horrifying. However, it's been a few weeks since I've read it and I'm still thinking about it. 

catn1p's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense

4.5

rzh's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

itsmandaaa's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

thiswillbepubliclyvisible's review against another edition

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3.0

I found this book hard to review, as it's difficult to disentangle issues I had with the plotting, such as forays into Byronic opera, with issues I had with the character of the protagenist. Both left an unpleasant taste in my mouth but it is unfair to penalise the author for deliberately cultivating such a skin-curling feeling.

There is a lot of good in this book. It's engaging, it's short, it has a depth to it worth plumbing. I found the twists of the storyline highly-interesting, and there was never a point where I felt like putting it down.

However, I struggled with how much I disliked the main character. It saddens me that men like this exist, but I guess they do: men who frame their desires as heroic rights and their actions as unpreventable excercises of those rights.
Spoiler The beginning of the book was a struggle for me in that regard, but it perked up towards the middle and end, as David recevied the ramificaitons of his disgrace.


Overall, 3.5 stars.

devis1227's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

meganmclean's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0