1000. Slow Man

Slow Man
J.M. Coetzee
2005

Around 270 pages

We are finally done with J.M. Coetzee, and like John Banville, he is finishing on his strongest work, so good for him. He's tied for most represented novels on this List, and the consistent quality of his stories meant I never resented him for it. Here's the official ranking:

1. Slow Man

2. Waiting for the Barbarians

3. Elizabeth Costello

4. Foe

5. In the Heart of the Country

6. The Life and Times of Michael K

7. Disgrace

8. Dusklands

9. The Master of St. Petersburg

10. Youth

If I were crowned Queen of the List, which at this point I really should be, I would probably nix the bottom half of this List in favor of representing more authors, but that's just me. But Slow Man is essential reading.

Paul Rayment loses part of his leg in a bicycle accident, and must adjust to his new life. He has a series of nurses but doesn't connect with any until Marijana. Elizabeth Costello also makes an appearance, which is fun; I always love it when authors create their own universes.

Like many of his works, this explores the relationship between an author and his characters. At some point in our lives we will all be a "patient" and I found Paul's feelings and loneliness relatable. Coetzee had already solidified himself as one of the greats, but this novel clinches it.

RATING: *****

Interesting Facts:

Coetzee's first novel since winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003.

Adapted into opera in 2012.

UP NEXT: On Beauty by Zadie Smith

981. Elizabeth Costello

Elizabeth Costello
J.M. Coetzee
2003
Around 225 pages

I don't know the exact stats, but I am fairly certain that Coetzee is at least tied for most representation on the List. None fall below the pretty good mark, so we'll let him keep his one percent of the total List. I'd much rather knock off some Roth, Rushdie, and Faulkner.

But on to the novel at hand. Elizabeth Costello is a celebrated Australian writer in her sixties, who is well known for writing a reimagining of Ulysses from the point of view of Molly Bloom. Ugh. Personally, I love stories about writers, and at this point in his career, Coetzee is well-positioned to reflect on all the trappings that come with literary success.

Anyway, this is a moving portrait of a novelist jam-packed with all the philosophical ideas under the Grecian sun, with an unforgettable ending. Let's go vegetarians!

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Adapted into a chamber opera.

UP NEXT: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

970. Youth

Youth
J.M. Coetzee
2002

Around 180 pages

I can see why the List is addicted to this guy, he writes short and digestible works on periods of major upheaval, which is no easy feat. 

In the wake of the Sharpesville massacre, our narrator moves from Cape Town to London, in hopes of becoming a poet and meeting a wonderful woman. In reality, he ends up in a string of meaningless affairs and a dull programming job.

I enjoy reading novels with protagonists who are explicitly and often desperately searching for meaning. Coetzee's prose is always easy to read and flies by. Yes, the main character was judgmental and a snob, but it's autobiographical, and, as we have observed, authors have the biggest egos on the planet.

A pleasant way to spend the afternoon; Coetzee is always good company.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

The second installment in Coetzee's fictionalized memoir.

UP NEXT: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

927. Disgrace

Disgrace
J.M. Coetzee
1999
Around 220 pages

Stories about sexual violence against women are always upsetting reads. Stories about sexual violence against women written by men, with all the focus on the male voices are even worse.

David Lurie is a divorced professor at Cape Technical University in South Africa. He is a groomer and predator, and once his affair with a student is exposed, he takes refuge at his daughter Lucy's farm in the Eastern Cape. Father and daughter become victims of the rampant violence in post Apartheid South Africa.

Once again, women's bodies are used as symbols of exploitation and are pretty much robbed of their autonomy from start to finish. I understand the journey David needed to take, but I don't think finally having sex with somebody not physically attractive makes for awe-inspiring growth. 

J.M. Coetzee is a great writer though, so I have no complaints about pacing or style. Just really didn't another story like this, or another character like David in my life.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Adapted to film in 2008.

Won the Booker Prize.

UP NEXT: The Ground Beneath Her Feet by Salman Rushdie

879. The Master of Petersburg

The Master of Petersburg
J.M. Coetzee
1994
Around 260 pages

I had a sense of deja vu as I started this novel, and then I realized that I was thinking about Summer in Baden-Baden. Authors love to obsess over Dostoyevsky. But it's kind of a weird choice when they delineate from the authors' real life so much. If you're going to change so much, why can't they be original characters? 

The novel begins with Dostoyevsky arriving in Saint Petersburg to collect the belongings of his recently deceased stepson Pavel. Pavel actually outlived Dostoyevsky, but Coetzee's son died young, so he's pulling from his own life there. Dostoyevsky investigates his stepson's death and has an affair with stepson's mistress, which totally seems like something he would do.

I appreciate that Coetzee always keeps it short and keeps everything moving, but this was an odd one. Coetzee has 10 entries on this List, which is a hefty percentage. If I were to cut that number in half, this would be in the unnecessary half. I do like that he tried a more Kafkaesque approach with this story but it was still a pretty strange form of fanfiction. 

Over a hundred years after his death, Dostoyevsky is still popping on this List. That's stage presence my friends.

 
RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Won the 1995 Irish Times International Fiction Prize.

UP NEXT: Land by Kyŏng-ni Park

770. Foe

Foe
J.M. Coetzee
1986
Around 160 pages

I lowkey love it when authors put their own spin on previous List books a la Jean Rhys with Jane Eyre. This time, Coetzee is putting his twist on Robinson Crusoe. It was enjoyable, although I still think he is overrepresented and this one could have been cut.

Susan Barton is on a quest to find her kidnapped daughter who has been taken to the New World. During a mutiny on her way to Lisbon, she is sent adrift, lands ashore, and meets Friday and Robinson. 

It seems surprising that Coetzee would turn his attention away from South Africa to revisit the plot of a 300 year old novel, but of course, he is a master of metaphor so there's still contemporary social commentary. Friday has lost his tongue to former slave owners, and the novel's themes include regaining a voice through writing. 

So a pretty fast read, and I'll be interested to see where Coetzee goes from here. It  seems like he is trying to do something different than his previous work. It's admirable when successful artists grow and change, rather than spew out the same work over and over again.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Coetzee revisited the composition of Robinson Crusoe in 2003 in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

UP NEXT: Watchmen by Alan Moore

736. The Life and Times of Michael K

The Life and Times of Michael K

J.M. Coetzee
1983
Around 200 pages

We have a clear reference to Kafka in the title, so we already know our protagonist is in for a thankless and grueling experience. Poor Michael really can't catch a break.

Michael K has a cleft lip and works as a gardener in Cape Town. He is the caretaker for his mother and wants to return her to her birthplace while she is still alive, which is difficult because he can't obtain proper permits to leave the city. It's pretty much one struggle after the other for Michael.

I always appreciate it when main characters have some kind of perceived physical defect. We can really tell a lot about humanity by how others react to that character because of their flaws. And in this instance, Coetzee uses Michael K to show how marginalized communities are treated without constantly bringing up race. 

So I wouldn't say I've enjoyed any of his novels yet, but I'm admiring his skill as a social commentator more and more.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Won the Booker Prize in 1983.

UP NEXT: Waterland by Graham Swift

716. Waiting for the Barbarians

Waiting for the Barbarians
J.M. Coetzee
1980

Around 160 pages

After Midnight's Children, we deserve a little treat. And I am enjoying J.M. Coetzee more and more, which is a good thing since he's a recurring cast member on this List. 

At a frontier outpost of an unnamed empire, a colonial magistrate suffers a crisis of conscience when Colonel Jell arrives looking to interrogate the locals about a supposed impending uprising. Coetzee always tells a simple story with a heavy dose of violence.

Man, I wish Coetzee would give some of these other List authors lessons in brevity. He only shares details that are absolutely essential to the story, and his themes are so universal that he really doesn't have to do a lot of world-building. All we need to know is an imperial power fears and abuses the natives, and he doesn't bog us down with unneccesary details.

This novel reminded me of The Opposing Shore, where soldiers wait poised for an attack that may never come. Coetzee's story is more action packed, but it does an excellent job of capturing that fear of the unknown, while emphasizing how imperialists capitalize on that fear to control and subjugate the masses.

Colonel Jell was one of the worst villains we've encountered on this List. Definitely worth a read.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

Coetzee is said to have taken the title as well as to have been heavily influenced by the 1904 poem "Waiting for the Barbarians" by the Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy.

UP NEXT: Summer in the Baden-Baden by Leonid Tsypkin

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.

UP NEXT: The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector

665. Dusklands

Dusklands
J.M. Coetzee
1974
Around 160 pages

J.M. Coetzee will definitely be featured in the opening credits of this blog's television adaptation. He gets 10 novels on this List, so I better like him or else.

Dusklands is divided into two stories. The first part, The Vietnam Project, follows Eugene Dawn, who works for a government agency responsible for the psychological warfare in the Vietnam War. The second story is about a hunting expedition in South Africa. I definitely enjoyed the second part more, as the Vietnam War is such a depressing subject. Come to think of it, I think this may be the first novel we've had that really focuses on that war. Most of our authors are still trying to process World War II.

This is Coetzee's very first novel, but he is already a powerful writer who isn't afraid to deeply disturb his readers (although who isn't on this List). It did feel too dense, and not quite cohesive, but it's still an astonishing debut, and promises greater talent in the future.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Featured in the movie G.I. Jane.

UP NEXT: The Fan Man by William Kotzwinkle