A Little Addendum

I should remark that I do understand Lucy's arguments for not telling the police, though I found them very irrational when considering her personality and other decisions - I cannot imagine anyone feeling the same way, perhaps at least more passionately, had they been in the same position. Though I am honestly quite puzzled with David's behaviour, on one occasion even contemplating how he would lure his granddaughter. Alas for now it is just one of those novels with a blur of an ending, leaving me unsatisfied and at certain points, uninterested.

My Reaction to Disgrace?

One thing I am certain of, is that Disgrace is definitely one of those books that I will forget in a couple months' time due to the sheer puzzlement I felt throughout my reading the novel. Why does David Lurie never learn his lesson? Why does Lucy never tell the police about the rape? Considering the simplicity of the writing style and description of the novel, there is little to support whatever theory one might have about the characters. I did very much enjoy the allusions though, and found the juxtaposition of David Lurie's life with Byron's to be particularly interesting. I am certain it does deserve the international acclaim it has received, but I am currently unable to decide for myself. Perhaps once I have a firmer grasp on the characters and themes of the novel, I will be able to better judge the novel. If I did recommend to others in this point in time, it would be to see their opinion and understanding of the novel.

Is Shakespeare Overrated?

Well, I can't help but feel that whatever I say now doesn't really matter, for several reasons

1) Whether I think he is overrated or not, we are still going to continue studying him

2) I am no expert on his works, and frankly do not feel I am in a position to critique him just yet, but I'm going to try anyway

Personally, I can very much understand why Shakespeare is so highly valued. He has written many plays, tackling many different important themes, that have lasted throughout the ages and help give some insight on the world of theater back in Elizabethan times. He is also a beacon in terms of literature, again possibly our "Greatest" example of Elizabethan literature. Though I am not a fan of sonnets, Shakespeare has instilled in me a deep respect for sonnets, and the difficulty required to write a sonnet successfully, in terms of both beauty and effectiveness. His sonnets also give us a glimpse of his psychology and Elizabethan lifestyle. All of these aspects combined make Shakespeare a landmark in history, and hence no, I do not believe Shakespeare is overrated.

Celestial Collision

You know I am not one for falling
But if I happen to one day topple or tumble
You must catch me, despite their forestalling
Yes, it is clear they want us to crumble

Soon our veins will merge and our bodies will fuse
And we will be a welded miscreation
A monument for those forbidden to choose
An immaculate paragon of devastation

They will slice these ties with a jagged knife and lance
Against the will of us buckled symbiotic wrecks
This is no accident, no random product of chance
No mere fender-bender, but far more complex

I pray they think twice before every incision
It is criminal to sever knots designed by celestial collision

Sonnets... *yawn*

I personally do not enjoy sonnets very much, nor any form of categorized structures for poetry, such as haiku and the like. I find that writing poems in one structure alone can be very limiting; the greatest poets use structure in their poems to emphasize certain themes and images, and though it is possible to do so with sonnets, it can get very repetitive and in the end lose it's effect. If we consider Shakespeare's sonnets 1 and 2 where the themes of masturbation, sex and the passing of beauty to offspring are evident, the repeated structure almost dampens the the theme of the second sonnet, and I imagine does the same with the next 15 procreation sonnets. I would think that reading over 150 of Shakespeare's poems, written with the same structure and same meter gets quite mind-numbing eventually. I do very much enjoy the rhyming couplets at the end of sonnets though. I find them a very light, effective and complete way to end the poem.

I Wish I Didn't Have To...

But I do. I must start off by expressing my intense disliking of the fact that I'm posting twice in one day, but alas, c'est la vie (in true J.M. Coetzee fashion). Now to fulfill this blog's orginal purpose and heartily answer the question:

"What do you think about JM Coetzee's writing style. What about his style is unique? Does that affect the reading of the novel?"

Immediately we notice Coetzee's matter-of-fact writing style. His writing style gives more than adequate information on the characters and their respective traits, the setting and the different incidents of the story. This is also enhanced by his using a third person point of view in the novel. I personally find that this leaves little room for imagination and numbs the desire to continue reading, since very much is laid out for the reader. What did drive me to continue, was the inital anoynymity of the protagonist, until we later discover that he is David Lurie. Coetzee often and effectively uses punctuation to put forth a notion, tone or possibility. The interesting twist to his writing style is his use of French and Latin phrases. I immediately thought of Nabokov's Lolita, where the author very similarily slips french phrases and terms. Since this is only the beginning of the book, it is difficult to fully understand why the author chose to use these phrases, but at this point I can assume the foreign languages are meant to give the protagonist an air of intelligence. Also, there are several allusions to different pieces of literature, including Madame Bovary and Oedipus. For me this makes the reading far more academic, requiring me to do brief research on the allusions I am unfamiliar with.

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There we go folks, I do hope you found that insightful/helpful/not bad enough to induce projectile vomitting.

-D

Nail Biting Factor:- weak to mild (depending on your levels of interest in J.M Coetzee, which really could be anywhere betweeen totally indifferent and stalker-like)

Start Biting Them Nails

Hey hey hey
So this is my blog. I half-heartedly promised myself to continue this blog despite its originating as an English assignment, while muttering "khalas" under my breath and rocking in my crossed-knee position to get comfortable on my mother's bed, while nibbling on a Lion bar. Alas I am certain this is one of those promises; the smoking Lebanese father's promise-to-stop-smoking-for-you-habibi kind of promise, those that you hear very often and don't last very long. Still, I am not giving up just yet, the hardheaded Taurean in me won't allow it. At least for a couple of weeks.

Enough for now, I do hope you enjoy reading this hyphen-packed post and the many (i.e few) more to come

Till next time
-D