This Novel Predicted South Africa's Collapse

Hello,

I have a new video out on the Nick Reads YouTube channel.

It is a piece on J.M. Coetzee’s masterpiece, Disgrace, which, as well as dealing with violence and tension in South Africa, also arguably predicted the MeToo movement.

It concerns a professor who has an affair with a student, but refuses to abase himself at an academic struggle session, instead claiming ‘I became a servant of Eros.’

When he leaves the university and heads to the Eastern Cape to live with his daughter, violence and violation soon ensue.

The novel raises uncomfortable questions about race, sex, and power, with Coetzee refusing to offer easy answers. This is no doubt why the book was condemned by the ANC, and Coetzee left South Africa for Australia not long after.

Here I delve into the complex ambiguities of this extraordinary novel. Please give it a watch below.

Thanks,
Nick