Primera aproximación que hago a Coetzee, con su primera obra, publicada cuando tenía 34 años. No fue lo que esperaba, ninguna de las dos novelas cortas que componen el libro me pareció lo suficientemente bien lograda y la prosa es poco amistosa, no cuaja del todo, y no es por el uso de palabras propias de los idiomas de Sudáfrica. Pero es interesante el tratamiento que hace de temas como la culpa y la alienación ("El Proyecto Vietnam") y de los intrincados mecanismos autocomplacientes que genera la soberbia y la crueldad ("La narración de Jacobus Coetzee"). Espero mejore en siguientes lecturas, me genera mucha curiosidad este escritor.

Ci sono pochi autori che scrivono come Coetzee e non c'è nessuno che ci investe così tanto in quanto a riflessione morale e politica, da sempre, a quanto pare.

(2020) I'm surprised at how my opinion of the two narratives here have changed throughout the years. This time, the second one seemed much more fascinating, much more diabolical, much more believable and interesting. If only it didn't have so many 'endings'.

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(2015) Two narratives separated by about 200 years showcasing the horrors and megalomania created by colonisation and war and not seeing enemies as humans. The Vietnam War and the Dutch 'exploration' of inner South Africa are atrocities and create deformed figures in Eugene Dawn and Jacobus Coetzee, respectively. There's less nuance in this revelation than in later Coetzee novels. However, with brutality that rages through these two stories, it's interesting that the metafictional elements question how much outrage and anger we should use in castigating these figures in question. For after all, they are just fiction.

Jeg har været pinligt længe om at få mig tygget igennem denne bog. Det var ikke en bog, som for mig, læste sig selv.

Two separate stories of two tragic events. The first tells the story of an American soldier who, having returned from fighting in Vietnam, loses his grip on reality and commits a violent act. In the second, the diaries of Coetzee's fictional ancestors tell the story of a group of white Afrikaners, and their interactions with the indigenous Namaqua. Written in radically different styles, the exploration of identity and violence is interesting, as is Coetzee's ability to embody completely different narrators.

3.5 stars. Two novellas. Both are mainly told in the first person. The first story called 'The Vietnam Project' is about Eugene Dawn, who writes a report on how propaganda can be effective on Vietnamese, set in 1972. Eugene's report is neglected and Eugene gets depressed. An interesting story with good character development. The second story is set in South Africa in 1760 - 1762. Jacobus Coetzee, a farmer, with his employees / servants, goes on an elephant hunting expedition into unexplored South African country. He encounters native Bushmen and Hottentots. An interesting story about the first bloody encounters between white men and natives in South Africa.

a herald of ongoing genius. "in my cell in the heart of america, with my private toilet in the corner, i ponder and ponder. i have high hopes of finding whose fault i am."

The first book of Coetzee I have read, "Dusklands" the term metaphorically stands true to the contexts of both the, sort of, adventures and vindictive stories the book unfolds. The inner visions and the complete self of both the protagonists, Eugene Dawn and the frontiersman, have been vividly characterized - a genuine credit to the experience and narrative technique of the author. The portrayal of the characters though had differences.
The narrative covering the Vietnam Project, the distinct war which America lost, is the setting for the writer. Through the detailed but to some extent exaggerated reading, it became clear to me what the story unfolded. The so called psychotic pressures a not so accomplished writer has to undergo with respect to the project and that of a family, a not so cooperative but emotional wife as was portrayed, marked well and does reach the nerve center of a reader in view of Eugene's utter helplessness. The author has painted a well-knit psychological journey of a rather simple struggling man who loved his family, more his son and the acute possessiveness of whom ended the protagonist in a hospital. Well displayed in fine and bombastic words sometimes I felt that the story (or both the stories) could have been more breathable had some details been obliterated. The depth of the character analysis was a few times hindranced by excessive detail. Some short paragraphs were like a complete episode which could not be understood, though in no way it affected the main flow of this first story. The Vietnam war had in it the horror perfectly opened. The scattered events of the protagonist elaborated his inner self at conflict appropriately.
The first narrative projected an image, an atmosphere that enabled to picture both the outside world and the narrator's cracked mind and system. In comparison the second story appeared a bit more complicated mainly with regard to the thought process of the 'master'. The North African journey to the Great Namaquas was tactfully described, so was the poverty stricken land and the tribe's friendly but animal behaviour. The stuffiness, torture the narrator underwent followed by the betrayal from his own Hottentot slaves does coagulate with a need to take revenge. But how could that justify the eliminating of the entire tribe, burn their village down? The vindictive attitude was unbalanced, appearing horrific, crude well portrayed by Mr. Coetzee. The explanation only justified his powerful dominating position, and the merriment he received in murdering his traitors. His ideology revealed himself a strong center superior to all. In other areas as in the desert he could not be properly clarified.
As earlier big spaces of narrative were shrouded with highly matured words from the wide vocabulary of the author that didn't hinder much of the mainstream flow. A little idea regarding the African tribes, their wilderness as the Tamboer brothers, their faithfulness as Klawer cover a space in the reader's mind. To sum up, the two stories were significantly displayed - credible as the author's first book.

Wat een wild, naargeestig en buitensporig boek. Een klein wonder dat hier een uitgever voor te porren was. Het hele Coetzee-universum zit hier al ergens verborgen, alleen nog overladen door een enorme lading jeugdige overmoed en ressentiment. Een zeer diamant, maar toch altijd fascinerend om een schrijver van zo'n statuur zijn eerste zetten te zien maken.

Kirja sisältää kaksi erillistä novellia. Toinen sivuaa Vietnamia ja toinen Etelä-Afrikkaa. Vietnamia koskenut novelli ei oikein päässyt lentoon, mutta siinä kuvattiin ihmiselämän moninaisuutta (välillä aika karskillakin tavalla) ja kuinka pahasti yksilö voi eksyä polultaan. Toinen novelli olikin sitten sitä itseään Etelä-Afrikkaa ja Coetzeeta. Hienoa kerrontaa kolonialistisesta Etelä-Afrikasta 1700-luvulta. Busmanneja ja hottentotteja. Valkoinen tulee ja ottaa maan. Novelli kuvaa siirtomaa-ajan oloja ja kuvaa niitä hienosti.

What little freaks these two are

Încă nu sunt convins dacă râde de propriii înaintași sau îi consideră extraordinari. Dacă e prima variantă omul e genial. A doua - doar un propagandist în favoarea imperiilor care merg și "civilizează" oamenii locului. Trebui să mai citesc, pare totuși genial.