Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee

I have mixed feelings about this book. The writing style was simple and transparent enough yet I feel like this book was divided between wanting to write beautifully and wanting to write simplistically. Because of that, there were random hard words (perhaps my vocabulary is simply limited) to the point where the fluidity and flow of the writing was almost broken up.

As for the overall plot, I think that it ended well. There were definitely some cultural references that I didn't understand and I found it irritating (to be completely honest) that there were at least 5 different languages used that I didn't understand. I mean, I'm extremely limited with my Italian and Latin and you can forget about French and German. And then there was the random word here and there of some of the languages that are spoken in South Africa (and sadly, I don't even know what languages they speak in South Africa besides English). The essence behind the meaning and what the author was trying to convey was lost in translation. I'm not sure it would've made it any better if he had a translated version. I was able to get the gist behind what he was trying to say and perhaps that was his intent.

One of his themes was about being misunderstood and about expressing oneself and the limits of language so his use of multiple languages perhaps showed this. I also like some of the themes he had in the book although I felt like some of the parallels he drew were painfully obvious. Even more so when he pointed it out. Again, if it was intentional that's fine, but because it doesn't seem quite intentional, it makes it almost bad. Hm. Still undecided on that one.

I can see why the book is up for one of those prizes (I don't remember, nor do I really care which specific one it is).

Overall, I'd have to say that this book was a pretty good read - I'd even recommend it to light readers. I would imagine a lot of people not liking the ending because it doesn't end very well in the sense that there doesn't seem to be a resolution. Some people wouldn't get it (although many would see the parallel between the fondness he has for the dog and his attachment to his daughter). He even goes as far as to show this through the conversation that he and his daughter have where she mentions that she's going to become a dog of a sort.

At any rate, overall a decent (but not great) read and I would recommend it with some reservations.