Scenes from Provincial Life #1

Boyhood

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Coetzee grew up in a new development north of Cape Town, tormented by guilt and fear. With a father he despised, and a mother he both adored and resented, he led a double life—the brilliant and well-behaved student at school, the princely despot at home, always terrified of losing his mother's love. His first encounters with literature, the awakenings of sexual desire, and a growing awareness of apartheid left him with baffling questions; and only in his love of the high veld ("farms are places of freedom, of life") could he find a sense of belonging. Bold and telling, this masterly evocation of a young boy's life is the book Coetzee's many admirers have been waiting for, but never could have expected.

166 pages, Paperback

First published September 1,1997

This edition

Format
166 pages, Paperback
Published
September 1, 1998 by Penguin Books
ISBN
9780140265668
ASIN
014026566X
Language
English
Characters More characters

About the author

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Community Reviews

Rating(4 / 5.0, 99 votes)
5 stars
29(29%)
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99 reviews All reviews
April 25,2025
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Asciutto e penetrante, Coetzee racconta stralci della propria infanzia sudafricana. Lo fa scrivendo in terza persona, usando il tempo presente, ovvero il tempo antinarrativo per eccellenza (è una scelta frequente di Coetzee). Eppure il racconto c'è, l'ambiente fisico e umano pure. Ma l'autore non vi indulge, non è necessario.
Quel che conta è l'interiorità: i pensieri, le emozioni sempre trattenute, introiettate, l'esplorazione dei limiti, le considerazioni su se stesso e sul mondo, i legami familiari e le accese idiosincrasie. Esperienze radicali, che diventeranno fondamentali per la formazione successiva (ne vedremo gli esiti nel secondo libro autobiografico: Gioventù).
Una battaglia di resistenza, così appare la cruda esperienza della fanciullezza. Una cosa estremamente seria, in qualche modo definitiva, proprio perché definisce un carattere, descrive le linee di un destino.
Questo bambino taciturno, solitario, in competizione estrema col mondo che lo circonda e tende a plasmarlo secondo le proprie linee direttrici, questo bambino scontroso e determinato, intimamente refrattario alla compiacenza è l'immagine precisa dell'adulto, dello scrittore Coetzee, come (non) lo conosciamo: schivo e appartato. E infatti, lo scopriamo qui, "scrivere per lui non è come dispiegare le ali; al contrario, è come raggomitolarsi, farsi più piccolo e inoffensivo possibile".
Un libro intenso e vero, dove lo stile sorvegliatissimo sa raggiungere il perfetto equilibrio tra il sentimento di sé, l'interiorità assoluta, e il modo di darne conto a chi sta fuori.
April 25,2025
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Aunque me ha costado tiempo terminármelo, me ha dejado muy impresionada. Me regaló este libro mi profesor de primero de carrera, y tal vez no lo he leído en el momento oportuno, pero le agradezco muchísimo la recomendación. Los que hemos tenido una familia complicada creo que olvidamos partes de nuestra infancia que son muy bellas detrás del derrumbe. Lo que Coetzee consigue es que, aunque haya décadas de diferencia, todo el mundo se puede identificar con ese niño curioso que piensa demasiado todo y que le toca asumir cosas duras muy pronto. Todas las infancias son traumáticas.
April 25,2025
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En Infancia, JM Coetzee nos abre la puerta de su vida y relata sus vivencias de niño en Ciudad del Cabo.
Su casa, la granja, su colegio y la relación con sus familiares pasan en esta novela autobiográfica muy bien escrita que nos permite conocer al Coetzee persona. (lo que él permite que conozcamos)
Muy recomendado.
April 25,2025
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i am left deeply moved by this work, left to consider the fragments of coetzee himself, sprawled across the pages of his book. what a difficult remembrance of the self this book appears to be; i feel as though i have witnessed a man aiming to understand himself, the self that observes, and vicariously recalls the origins of his being. coetzee has spun a beautifully fragile web around the floating parts of his childhood- a web that seems to remain undone.
April 25,2025
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My knowledge about South Africa, Apartheid and Afrikaans are consisted of a little bit of Nelson Mandela, District 9 movie and Charlize Theron speaking Afrikaans on youtube, respectively. Reading Coetzee is a news to me and my ignorance has been weakened a bit more.

I have read somewhere that Coetzee is quite a silent person. During a meeting he didn’t talk a word, he's way too disciplined, he cycles to be healthy, barely smiles, he hasn't even gone to get a prize he won and he never eats meat, neither smokes nor drinks. Along with the Nobel Prize he won in 2003, These features about his personality make him more interesting to get to know his literature.

Perhaps this book reflects his silence in its own way: Lack of dialogues, cutting the long story short, memories from a 10 year old boy directly yet not that directly told, addressing the very same boy without giving any names. Even though this 10 year old boy is Coetzee himself, it’s obvious that he also puts a third person’s view of how his childhood could be when seen from different eyes. Therefore the reality and fiction mingle together, where we get a glimpse of South Africa’s social issues from a 10 year old boy's point of view whilst he experiences contradictory feelings for his family, grows feelings for beauty and sexuality etc.

As a first experience of Coetzee’s literature, I didn’t find it extraordinary but I liked the storytelling: no forced dramas nor actions, just a plain chain of happenings which lets the reader shape in her/his own imaginary.

I definitely have to read the other two books Youth and Summertime from this “autobiography” sometime soon.
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