3,5⭐

O carte dura. Pentru mine a fost dura.

At times a beautiful book, but much of the time I had that nagging feeling that I was missing something. Perhaps it’s my lack of knowledge of South African history, perhaps my obtuseness, but ultimately I never quite connected with the themes I could feel lurking under the surface of this simple book about a man journeying around the country at the mercy of everyone he meets.

In the end I came to the conclusion that the man represents in part the country as a whole - perhaps its original identity, which is weak and broken after years of colonial rule and abuse. The various other actors - the rebels, the soldiers, the infirmary doctor - can then all be seen to be other aspects of either the external environment or the country’s other facets. But I was never quite convinced of this view and so came out of reading this book a little confused and unsatisfied.

Ignoring my worries about themes (I presumably represent the pesky doctor in part 2 who insists on interpreting Michael K and drives him away) I still did not really settle into the book. It dragged at times; perhaps the unusualness of the pseudo-protagonist prevented me really being drawn in while maybe a 21st century, British lack of identification with the book put up more barriers to really feeling immersed in the book limited my enjoyment.

Whatever the cause, I just didn’t really enjoy this book. A let down from the the similarly eerily haunting “Waiting for the barbarians” by Coetzee, but that was much more engaging and rewarding.

So much of Coetzee's later style is visible in this early novel. The social opt-out of Life and Times of Michael K. is here, as is the isolated female character of Age of Iron. There is discussion on South African race relations, as recurs in many (but not all) of Coetzee's novels. There is also early signs of his preoccupation with the Spanish language.

Similarly significant are questions about sex and its relationship to power. And the distant father figure that appears in Coetzee's autobiographical novels is present in In the Heart of the Country. Although I suppose in his other novels the reaction against this distant father figure is never so... strong as it is here. Certainly not as stylistically coherent as his later works, this novel is still written in Coetzee's distinctive style. It covers so many of his usual themes. I suppose it's just not quite as refined as the novels which were written after it.