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Disgrace

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Disgrace

By: J. M. Coetzee
Narrated by: Jack Klaff
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About this listen

After years teaching Romantic poetry at the Technical University of Cape Town, David Lurie, middle-aged and twice divorced, has an impulsive affair with a student. The affair sours, he is denounced and summoned before a committee of inquiry. Willing to admit his guilt, but refusing to yield to pressure to repent publicly, he resigns and retreats to his daughter Lucy's isolated smallholding.

For a time, his daughter's influence and the natural rhythms of the farm promise to harmonise his discordant life. But the balance of power in the country is shifting. He and Lucy become victims of a savage and disturbing attack which brings into relief all the faultlines in their relationship.

By the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature and twice winner of the Booker Prize.

©1999 J M Coetzee (P)2014 AudioGo Ltd. Published by Random House Audiobooks
Literary Fiction Fiction
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What listeners say about Disgrace

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  • Overall
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Excellent reading by Jack Klaff

This is a very difficult and provocative book. I’ve read it once before and struggled to understand it. However, reading it with Jack Klaff’s brilliant audiobook, I was absorbed much more into this searing and menacing tale. Klaff is wonderful at capturing not only the tone of Lurie and Coetzee’s narration, but also is adept at switching accents. Very pleased, nothing bad to say about this.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A sombre tale of choices

At first, you end up loathing the cynical protagonist, a womanizing professor, who seems to have lost the will in life. Until the moment he realises the tragedy that befalls his daughter and that some things are out of his control.

The prose is poetic and decadent, but where I find some difficulties in processing is the protagonist's outlook of separating women into the virgin or prostitute category. What we understand is that the main character has actual little understanding around him. Very intriguing listen.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Moving insight into consequences and change.

A riveting insight into a changing world and how individuals come to terms with the ramifications of their actions.

The narration is an exemplary match to the timbre of the prose, drawing you into every detail.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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outstanding story and narration

I've never read one of his books before but this is a stunningly emotive and thoughtful novel
full of difficult subjects not easy to write and reflect upon within south Africa and beyond
the narrator was excellent as well

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Superb book and superb narration

This book is held in very high regard by the world's critics and the author won the Nobel prize shortly after publishing it. Let me just add that I thought the narrator. Jack Klaff, does a superb job, both with inner thoughts, dialogue and especially pacing. I consumed this at 1.5x in less than 24 hours which I highly recommend. A gripping and powerful experience which I expect to resonate for a long time to come.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Interesting and enjoyable book!

I loved this book and the narrator Jack Klaff was perfect for the story and brought all the characters to life. One of the best narrators I have listened to. There are a lot of interesting perspectives in the story and I enjoyed every chapter.

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4 people found this helpful

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Deserves the praise it's received

Everyone knows that taste in books is subjective, so I shouldn't be surprised that someone has found this book a waste of time while I found everything about it good. It's certainly not a happy story but the author carries it at a good pace and I found the picture of the various people at the South African farm fascinating and convincing. I thought the reader was possibly South African and that his various characters were OK.

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2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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A book for people who study books

It had me engaged but I feel a lot of its finer points were lost on me. A book most enjoyable for people who not a lot about books!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Power, weakness, compromise, alignments, survival, kindness and cruelty

This book is brilliant. To some this will be an observation on changing South Africa, to others a framework for their political cause. For me, it showed how we all find our personal way to navigate the world and the powers around us and how we must choose how best to be kind in our circumstances, especially when in possession of any power, whether large or small.

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One of my favourite books of all time

This was a re- read and I found the narration excellent - clear diction, sensitive to dialect and language, authentic, enhancing the sense of place of the book

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