686. In the Heart of the Country

In the Heart of the Country
J.M. Coetzee
1977
Around 150 pages

Coetzee is a big deal in my community (which consists of me and two cats), as he accounts for about one percent of this list. Yeah, take a moment to digest that juicy tidbit. But this was a rough, intentionally disturbing read.

Magda is the white daughter of a widowed farmer in the Western Cape. She fantasizes about killing her father, and she feels extremely trapped in her situation. There is a violent rape scene that I definitely could have lived without, and definitely spoiled the entire experience for me, even if I got where Coetzee was going with it.

This is only his second entry, so he has plenty of time to impress us yet (I guess I should say impress me, my cats are never impressed). 

RATING: *----

Interesting Facts:

Coetzee has explained that the numbered paragraphs should act like film scenes.

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