The Schooldays of Jesus
by J.M. Coetzee
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Near Fine/Fine
- Seller
-
Princeton, New Jersey, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Reviews
"Passion can't be explained, it can only be experienced. More exactly, it has to be experienced from the inside before it can be understood from the outside"
The Schooldays of Jesus is the second book in the Jesus series by award-winning author, J.M.Coetzee. It follows on directly from The Childhood of Jesus and was longlisted for the2016 Man Booker Prize. David, Simon and Ines have left Novilla, perhaps as fugitives. In the town of Estrella, David and Ines find work on a farm until the harvest is over, while David spends the days with the children of other workers. Queries about David's schooling, now that he is almost seven, lead to his enrolment at the Academy of Dance, with tuition funded by the farm's owners.
The owner of the Academy of Dance teaches a philosophy with which Simon finds difficulty: the dances may be beautiful, but calling down numbers from the sky? The relationship that David forms with the Principal Attendant at the ground floor museum also concerns Simon, and he cannot deny feeling hurt by David's preference for the Academy's care over that of Ines and himself.
In this slightly bizarre, seemingly third-world and possibly post-apocalyptic setting, many of the characters are rather flat and passionless (although less so that in The Childhood of Jesus), often somewhat intriguing but not endearing: their strangeness allows Coetzee to explore their reactions and ideas. Coetzee uses both David's incessant questions and the encounters his characters have, in various scenarios, with officials, employers, a tutor, patrons, teachers, other parents and random strangers to philosophise about various aspects of life: identity, passion, the reliability of memories, kindness, meat eating, lust, culpability and the state of mind of the perpetrator, being in love, guilt, repentance, and forgiveness.
Readers may find allegory and deep meaning in the text (or perhaps not, as it never really becomes clear if there is any, and even readers who have read The Childhood of Jesus may be confused).The ending is, again, rather ambiguous and leaves scope for Coetzee to continue on this philosophical journey with the same characters in further books. At times surreal, often perplexing, this is another unique offering from Coetzee.
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Details
- Bookseller
- 32.1 Rare Books + Ephemera (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 500186
- Title
- The Schooldays of Jesus
- Author
- J.M. Coetzee
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Viking
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2016
- Keywords
- | | | Fiction
Terms of Sale
32.1 Rare Books + Ephemera
All Books are American or British first editions unless otherwise noted. Dust jackets are present if stated. Other elements such as author signatures are noted. New Jrsey residents will be asked for sales tax. All items are guaranteed and all items are subject to prior sale.
A NOTE ABOUT CONDITION
We make every effort to accurately describe the condition of our items in detail. Our top condition is fine. Others include near fine, very good and fair. Returns may be made within 3 days of receipt if book is not described correctly. Reciprocal dealer courtesies extended.
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About the Seller
32.1 Rare Books + Ephemera
About 32.1 Rare Books + Ephemera
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