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Coetzee grew up in a new development north of Cape Town, tormented by guilt and fear. With a father he despised, and a mother he both adored and resented, he led a double life—the brilliant and well-behaved student at school, the princely despot at home, always terrified of losing his mother's love. His first encounters with literature, the awakenings of sexual desire, and a growing awareness of apartheid left him with baffling questions; and only in his love of the high veld ("farms are places of freedom, of life") could he find a sense of belonging. Bold and telling, this masterly evocation of a young boy's life is the book Coetzee's many admirers have been waiting for, but never could have expected.

166 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1997

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About the author

J.M. Coetzee

148 books4,762 followers
John Maxwell Coetzee is an author and academic from South Africa. He became an Australian citizen in 2006 after relocating there in 2002. A novelist and literary critic as well as a translator, Coetzee has won the Booker Prize twice and was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 418 reviews
Profile Image for Orsodimondo.
2,265 reviews2,135 followers
July 4, 2023
SCENE DI VITA DI PROVINCIA


David Coetzee, fratello dello scrittore J.M. Coetzee, in un ritratto realizzato dal premio Nobel. Tutte le foto sono scattate dal giovane J.M. Coetzee

Primo capitolo del romanzo autobiografia difficile capire quanto fittizia. Fantabiografia?

Ad accelerare il processo di crescita del giovane John, qui seguito in terza persona dai dieci ai tredici anni, è la realtà del secondo dopoguerra nel suo paese natale, il Sudafrica.
Siamo in provincia, come indica il sottotitolo, che si protrae ad abbracciare anche i capitoli seguenti, Gioventù e Tempo d'estate. E con provincia s’intende la periferia di Worcester, a centosessanta chilometri da Città del Capo.


A casa di un compagno.

John adora la madre in modo viscerale, ma per forza di cose non è un sentimento sereno, quanto piuttosto un attaccamento morboso.
Anche perché dall’altra parte detesta suo padre, uomo manesco e irascibile dedito all’alcol, che gli suscita vera e propria (esagerata) rabbia.
Rabbia che scompare appena fuori dall’ambiente domestico, dove invece si presenta quasi implume, agnello.
E data la sua esasperata sensibilità, non ha vita facile ad adattarsi, a inserirsi, a fare parte.


St Joseph’s Marist College.

È l’età dei primi turbamenti, vuoi per la religione e vuoi ancor più per la sessualità, il senso di inadeguatezza e il senso di colpa, vita amore e morte.
Con chi parlarne, con chi condividere?
Amare è essere in una gabbia, correre avanti e indietro come un povero babbuino disorientato.
Il suo paese è in pieno apartheid, e il nostro giovane bianco anche su questo tema non riesce ad abbracciare la posizione dominante della sua razza.

Ne risente l’educazione scolastica che procede in solitario e autosufficienza: quasi come se John vivesse già nell’attesa di partire per l'Europa.


Ros e Freek, nati nel Karoo, sulla spiaggia di Strandfontein – la prima volta che hanno visto il mare.
Profile Image for Pakinam Mahmoud.
895 reviews4,112 followers
December 12, 2022
ملخص الكتاب كالآتي:
"أنا كنت بلعب مع صحابي،بابا وحش،ماما حلوة..
جده كان عنده مزرعة..خالتي وقعت ورجليها اتكسرت وبعدين ماتت.."
المفروض إن الكتاب مذكرات لكويتزي من أيام طفولته والصراحة الحاجات اللي كتبها لا تستحق أن تُكتب في كتاب من ٢٠٠ صفحة أو بمعني أصح لا تستحق أن تُكتب أصلاً!
كتاب ممل ومش مفيد ولا ينصح به..
Profile Image for Ahmad Sharabiani.
9,564 reviews48 followers
June 7, 2017
Boyhood (Scenes from Provincial Life #1), J.M. Coetzee
عنوانها: کودکی - سه گانه صحنه هایی از زندگی شهرستان - کتاب اول؛ پسرانگی - سه گانه صحنه هایی از زندگی شهرستان - کتاب اول؛
نویسنده: جی.ام. (جان مکسول) کوتسی؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: بیست و نهم ماه اکتبر سال 2006 میلادی
عنوان: کودکی - سه گانه صحنه هایی از زندگی شهرستان - کتاب اول؛ نویسنده: جی.ام. (جان مکسول) کوتسی؛ مترجم: محسن مینوخرد؛ تهران، نشر قصه، 1383، در 184 ص؛ چاپ دیگر: تهران، میلکان، 1393؛ در 142 ص؛ شابک: 9786007443088؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان افریقایی انگلیسی - برنده ی پاداش نوبل - قرن 20 م
عنوان: پسرانگی - سه گانه صحنه هایی از زندگی شهرستان - کتاب اول؛ نویسنده: جی.ام. (جان مکسول) کوتسی؛ مترجم: شهلا طهماسبی؛ تهران، کتاب پنجره، 1393، در 194 ص؛ شابک: 9789647822725؛
سه گانه صحنه هایی از زندگی شهرستان کوتسی عبارتند از: کتاب نخست: کودکی (پسرانگی)؛ کتاب دوم: جوانی؛ کتاب سوم: تابستان زندگی؛
نخستین کوچندگان سفید پوست به آفریقای جنوبی هلندی‌ها بودند، که خود را « بوئر » نامیدند (بوئر به زبان هلندی به معنای کشاورز است). سپس انگلیسی‌ها در قرن نوزدهم به آفریقای جنوبی هجوم آوردند، و هلندی‌ها را به سوی شمال راندند. جورج مکسول کوتسی (نویسنده‌ ی رمان) نیز از هلندی تبارهای این سرزمین است. کوتسی در زمان کودکی، به آفریقای جنوبی پنجاه سال پیش بازمی‌گردد، و از روزگار کودکی و زندگی درونی خود می‌نویسد. روایتگر «کودکی» در شهرستانی کوچک بزرگ می‌شود، پدری دارد که هم از او تقلید می‌کند و هم نمی‌تواند به پدرش احترام بگذارد، و مادری که هم می‌ستایدش و هم از مادر رنجیده خاطر است. او راه خویش را، در جهانی که از توضیح قواعد و مقرراتش برای او سرباز می‌زند، رفته رفته می‌گشاید، ولی می‌داند که باید از قواعد و مقررات نیز پیروی کند، کودکی گرفتار در چنبر تناقض‌ها، با ریزبینی و دقتی به یاد ماندنی، کشاکش‌ها، سرخوشی‌ها و هراس‌های آن دوران را، به تصویر می‌کشد. کوتسی کودکی خود را با کنجکاوی بی‌غرضانه‌ ی پوینده‌ ای که در پی کشف جاپاهای گذشته‌ ی خویش است، می‌کاود، و گزارشی درخشان و سرد از جستجوی خویش به خوانشگر ارائه می‌دهد. ا. شربیانی
Profile Image for Jean-Luke.
Author 1 book439 followers
October 9, 2021
Boyhood is a book of contrasts. Young vs. old. Mother vs. son. Afrikaans vs. English. Country life vs. city life. Black vs. white. The childhood Coetzee describes would have been the childhood of someone my grandfather's age, but I could nevertheless make connections to my own. Gone were the days of railway work and radio serials, but a haircut, to my embarrassment, still always seemed to turn out to be too short. And yes, Afrikaners still don't call anyone more than few years older than themselves by their name or refer to them as 'you.' There were musings on cricket, and farm life, and the divides created by apartheid, but because this isn't strict autobiography--has any of it been invented?--I got about halfway before beginning to crave a more substantial narrative thread.
Profile Image for David.
161 reviews1,570 followers
January 24, 2010
Inside the front cover of Coetzee's Boyhood, in the police line-up of ejaculatory blurbs -- which I tend to find outrageously embarrassing -- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is alleged to have called the book 'a liturgy of wisdom.' (Like me, you probably have a hunch that The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was the pimply-faced geek in school who never had a date and spent his lunch hour doing geometric proofs with the head of the math department.) Newsday, meanwhile, says it's comprised of 'pithy urgent sentences from which emotion seems to explode.' (So wear your rain poncho or you'll get covered in emotion. Yuck.) Good ol' Michiko Kakutani scoured the earth for histrionic adverb-adjective combos and came up with 'fiercely revealing' and 'bluntly unsentimental.' I'd gladly agree with the latter but was sadly immune to any fierceness in this book. In fact, it was mostly fiercely perfunctory in my opinion, which, it should be noted -- in the interest of full disclosure -- is not regularly published in The New York Times and may be fiercely deficient.

I was lured into checking out those blurbs because I found myself without any strong feelings whatsoever about Boyhood, and I wanted to see what was causing its fans to get off. Sure, it's an okay, entirely palatable autobiography. (There's a blurb for you. 'Entirely palatable!' - David K.) It's not a difficult slog, by any means. But the problem is that, if, before reading, you were to imagine to yourself what an autobiography of Coetzee's childhood would be like, this is exactly the sort of thing you'd come up with. Spare, unemotional, prosaic, insightful but oddly removed.

In his allegorical novels, his detachment and clinical analysis work just fine. They actually serve the material very well. But here, where he's reflecting upon his childhood, I guess you'd hope he'd invest the telling with a little animation, a hint of passion or energy, and attempt at least to convince us that the ten-year-old Coetzee wasn't as grim and emotionally ascetic as the sixty-five-year-old Coetzee. But maybe he was a tiny Nobel laureate even then. (Fiercely unchildlike?) It probably didn't help to imbue his childhood with liveliness when he chose to write the autobiography in the third person. It keeps the whole enterprise very arm's-length and white-gloved. (As a stylistic device, the once-removed narration also makes the readers a little skeptical at the authenticity of the memoir. Is it puffed-up, over-dramatized? Of course, most autobiographies are to some extent, but it feels more conspicuous in this format.)

This makes it sound like I didn't like this book. Not true. It's just that Coetzee has kind of built up expectations for me: I want to really, really like his stuff, not just think it's okay. Plus, I probably didn't get all I could out of this thing in that it discusses the finer points of race and caste in South Africa, the history and social composition of which I know little about. The only things I know about South Africa are apartheid, Mandela, and that 'Sun City' song by Steven Van Zandt (remember that?). But these are all very vague concepts in my mind because I am (apparently) a self-obsessed American who is ignorant about the world around him. Sure, when I was splayed on the couch reading this thing, I could've gotten up and wiki'd 'South Africa' but I wasn't motivated enough, so the subtleties of Afrikans, 'Coloured People,' 'Natives,' and the English were mostly lost on me. I don't think a familiarity with these distinctions is essential to enjoying the book, but it surely couldn't hurt. And in one chapter he talks a bunch about cricket, and I was, like, 'Who cares?' I have no idea how cricket is played so I couldn't even conjure up any approximate images in my head of what Coetzee was talking about.

The format of the book is generally one of vignettes. Each chapter usually serves as a stand-alone, non-cumulative story of his childhood about one or more subjects. It's almost like an autobiographical short story collection. I think this is probably a good route for recollecting young childhood because let's face it... our memories of that time are pretty scattershot, and thus we aren't able to understand the true correlative effect of our experiences because some of them are missing or incomplete. So, all in all, the episodic nature of the book is a good strategy, but it was still a little bland.
Profile Image for Lukasz Pruski.
921 reviews120 followers
October 6, 2013
I find it amazing that there can be so much content in a 166-page book, and that the result is so spellbinding and perfect. J.M. Coetzee's "Boyhood: scenes from provincial life" is a portrait of the author as a 10-year-old boy growing up in South Africa. I have never read a more insightful analysis of a child's thinking and emerging personality; well, it is hard to find this level of psychological profundity in any writing. At the same time, the novel gives an amazingly rich and deep depiction of the South African society, with its class and racial divides.

Mr. Coetzee, in this "fictionalized autobiography" writes about a 10-year-old boy in the third person. The "he" is little John Coetzee, a precocious child, who loves and hates his mother and is ashamed of his father. The author reaches to the deepest and most private layers of a child's psyche, layers that one is usually too embarrassed to get to. One of the magnificent passages describes how the boy creates his first memories (yes, creates and edits them). The essential question are raised: Who am I? Where do I belong? As the author writes: "What he does not yet know is why he is in the world." The boy tries to figure out how the world works - who the good people are. He experiences something almost like the first love, and is fascinated by the beauty and mystery of other children's bodies.

The year is about 1950, just after the United Party's downfall and the ascent of the National Party rule. The boy lives in a society that is racially much more complex than that of the U.S. and probably of most countries in the world. The racial divides are between four distinct groups: the English, the Afrikaners, the "Coloureds", and the "Natives". Mr. Coetzee shows the racial fissures in the South African society sharply yet subtly. So many books in which the well-meaning authors try to present the problems of race on hundreds of crudely written and superficial pages read like predictable sermons. Here, the author writes four sentences about the meaning of the word "mustn't", and these four sentences perceptively convey the nature of racial inequality.

I can pleasantly waste about two hours of my life reading 166 pages of Connelly, Kellerman, or Grafton. I have spent about 12 hours over four days to read 166 pages of "Boyhood". These were some of the best spent 12 hours in my life.

Five stars.
Profile Image for Dave Schaafsma.
Author 6 books31.7k followers
April 12, 2023
Boyhood is the name of a film by Richard Linklater that most people feel is one of the best of this past year, and I haven't seen it yet. It is not based on this memoir, which I guess might be classified as auto-fiction, too, because it is written in the third person. It's the first of three (so far) in a series of growing up memoirs, followed by Youth and Summerime, both of which I purchased in hardcover just as they came out and have been gathering dust on my shelf ever almost ever since. Coetzee is the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, and he's one of my all time favorite writers. His Waiting for the Barbarians, an allegory about power, political and sexual, is one of the best books I have ever read. Foe takes Daniel DeFoe's Robinson Crusoe and tells it from the position of the mute native Friday. Disgrace tells a devastating tale of sexual power as a university English professor is dismissed from his position for an affair with one of his students. The Master of St. Petersburg is a novel about Dostoevsky, and Coetzee is an heir of the great Russian writer's major themes and his anguish, as well as of Kafka and similarly brilliant and brooding souls. I love all of the Coetzee novels I have read, and I have read many, but every time I picked up this book I couldn't get far in it, it was so distant and bleak and unhappy. And let me tell ya, most of the novels above are bleak but gorgeously written.

Boyhood is about Coetzee's early years in provincial South Africa, in Worcester, and it's dry and hard there and no one is happy, not the carefree time we get in some memoirs. The young John is private, brooding, mirthless, living with a mother he loves but is not close to, a younger brother he doesn't connect to, and a father he hates. He has few friends. He is the smartest boy in his grade, maybe his whole school, but school is also not engaging, not great for him; it's pretty oppressive.

So! Fun, right? Feel like reading it just for kicks? In this intense memoir we get the background for how the ideas he engages with in his novels came about: colonialism, racism, issues of representation, the meaning of life. Young John is filled with guilt and fear and rage throughout his young life. He tries to fight all these emotions by ordering his life severely, by working hard, striving to "rise above" his circumstances. I am an ex-Calvinist and this severity seems familiar to me, but Coetzee is sort of a non-religious (I think) Calvinist, wracked as he is by fear and guilt.

In spite of these terrible emotions, young John thinks of himself as possibly having a special destiny, which he mainly gets from literature, heroic fantasies and comic books and the heroism of sports, like rugby and cricket, though he is just an average athlete. But here is where you see the tone and subtlety of his tale. He's self-deprecating throughout. He is not without humor in mocking his young arrogance and anguish, his extreme self absorption. How could he think of himself as better than others coming from where he has come, his parents, his schooling, this arid veld?

At one point, introduced to Roman history and literature, he decides he is a Roman Catholic, though his family is atheist and he knows nothing about religion. That he hangs on to this weird notion is in part because were he to admit he wasn't Catholic would be humiliating. He is overly dramatic about this possible outing of his lie; if they reveal his lie and ignorance, he says he will refuse to go to school and threatens to kill himself. He's an intense boy, wracked by everything. But he also has many humorous misunderstandings about the world, including one about how babies are born; he misunderstands something his mother says about how babies come in out of "the backside" so he thinks they are born anally, pushed out of the stomach, a notion he weirdly hangs on to for years, even faced with friends' mockery of him. If he is right, he is right! There are lots of revelations of his arrogance and ignorance that are subtly humorous, if not exactly hilarious. You almost never get laughs from Coetzee, but there are smiles to be had here. And you admire his honesty in mocking his young self. He's as vicious about himself as his young self is of others.

But as he says, "sometimes the gloom lifts": He does love some things intensely in his quiet way; his mother, whom he is also anguished about, as with so many things. who is also unhappy with her husband and disappointed her life wouldn't be more. He loves cricket and rugby. He loves reading stories. From an early age; he sees he is suited for nothing but teaching, for school. He also loves nature, especially his father's family farm. He "belongs" to the farm, though it will never be his, he is just a guest there. But he loves the country and feels happier there than any other place. He only mentions a sense of belonging with respect to his mother. Not even in school, really, as the schools he attends are terrible and he feels so isolated from the other kids and teachers. But in nature and with sports he finds some release.

One of the interesting things about this story is that issues of race, class, gender and sexuality, barely on his radar as a young kid, emerge throughout his growing up story set in apartheid South Africa. He is Afrikaans, but mostly wishes to be British, he wants to be superior, he's sort of smug about wanting to be set apart. I admire this honesty; it's like his ignorance about being "Roman" Catholic or how babies are born. He's young and naive but we see emerge from his life story the themes in his work as he begins to reflect on them.

Why did I have trouble getting into this book? Well, it's sorta bleak! For a memoir, it initially feels distant, in third person, though this choice feels ultimately perfect for him. But he's a Nobel prizewinning writer and this is as elegantly written as anything else he has done. And In the end of this first installment of his life story, we see his "destiny" emerging, what really does come to be his specialness. His aunt Annie dies, he goes to the funeral, and he recalls his aunt telling his mother that he is a special boy, this aunt who taught for more than 40 years, who leaves behind a small library of books. In the end Coetzee also becomes a teacher, and of course a writer, but at the time he thinks: "How will he keep them all in his head, all the books, all the people, all the stories? And if he does not remember them, who will?" (166).

This isn't one of Coetzee's greatest books, but especially if you like Coetzee, it is interesting.
Profile Image for Peiman.
463 reviews142 followers
December 27, 2022
پسرانگی گویا قراره خاطراتی از کودکی در آفریقای جنوبی باشه، اما هر کاری کردم بهم نچسبید، یعنی هی خوندم گفتم الان یه چیزی میشه، یه اتفاقی می‌افته، اما نشد که نشد حالا مشکل از من بود یا از کتاب نمیدانم.ه
Profile Image for Pedro.
557 reviews195 followers
April 11, 2023
Infancia parece ser una novela autobiográfica, aunque la forma narrativa elegida es la tercera persona. Para mis preferencias literarias, eso no constituye un buen comienzo, ya que las memorias no es un género que me interese mucho.

La historia se inicia cuando la familia, incluido el protagonista de 10 años, se mudan de Ciudad del Cabo a una urbanización en las afueras de Worcester, donde su padre, abogado, ha conseguido empleo. El lugar no es presentado con mucho afecto, a diferencia del lugar en el mundo del niño, la granja de su familia paterna, Vöelfontein.

Los aspectos más ricos de la novela son la descripción de los padres y otros familiares, y los complejos vínculos que mantiene con ellos, así como los entresijos y tensiones en las relaciones entre los que perciben como ingleses y los afrikaners, descendientes de los primeros colonizadores holandeses; hay también interesantes observaciones sobre la gente de color, una mundo que se presenta con afecto aunque incomprensible y misterioso. Algunas de estas cuestiones, aunque interesantes, hoy parecen anacrónicas a la luz del rumbo que tomó la historia posterior de Sudáfrica.

El niño no es demasiado simpático ni querible, aunque es muy observador y trata permanentemente de ordenar mentalmente el mundo a partir de los indicios que va obteniendo.

La escritura de Coetzee, es, como siempre, impecable; y se le debe reconocer que si efectivamente es autobiográfica, ha tenido la honestidad de no idealizar en absoluto su yo-niño.

Salvo los aspectos mencionados, la novela no me despertó mucho interés; y si logré terminarla fue por la calidad en la escritura del autor. Aunque entiendo que cada uno tiene sus preferencias respecto a los géneros y estilos literarios.

Qué tengan un buen día. 🙂
Profile Image for notgettingenough .
1,052 reviews1,264 followers
September 1, 2017
Make note to learn something about South African history and culture. It does the reader no favours to be as ignorant as I while reading this.

Underline note of some years ago to read Disgrace. Watched twice, but still not read. Boyhood has given me an idea as to how one might understand the odd scenario of that book, woman raped by black men and consequently pregnant, determines to become the 3rd wife of one of the rapists. Perhaps this will afford her some degree of safety and the possibility of staying in her home…though it will no longer be her home. We are given to believe that the woman is doing this as penance for being white. It is her necessary apology.

Here in Boyhood, there is much discussion of the difference between groups, including the Coloured people who are part of his life in a mysterious and uncomfortable way. Clearly Coetzee was a child disturbed by the racism that was part of his life. I wonder if, as an adult writer, he assuages his own guilt by this story. What can white men really give up, compared with white women? The total humiliation of the woman in Disgrace, perhaps that’s the sacrifice he can make. The author makes amends.

The more I read of fictionalised memoir, the more I come to the realisation that it is free to be truthful when factual memoir is not. Coetzee is ruthless in his descriptions of all in this account, including himself. Nobody is nice, his childhood is horrible but when I could imagine myself whining as I told such a story, he is merely dispassionately descriptive.

rest here: https://alittleteaalittlechat.wordpre...
Profile Image for Haytham.
155 reviews36 followers
October 27, 2022
"لقد تُرك وحده يفكر بذلك. كيف سيحافظ على كل ما يعرفه في رأسه، كل الكتب، كل الناس، كل القصص؟

وإذا لم يتذكرها هو فمن سيتذكرها؟"
Profile Image for Ravi Gangwani.
210 reviews104 followers
September 2, 2016
Coetzee, for me is really an angel. He knows how to touch the heart. Most of the sections of the book were so absorbing that I felt the need to pause for a moment to breath.

His tender heart, Summer Vacations on farms, money crisis of childhood, love for books, sport fanaticism, bully kids in school, attention on wealthy kids in school, scout guiding, differences between Catholics and Jews, mother's love and her sacrifices for him, fantasies during school days for sex and how babies come, the blood of white and black people, Afrikaans and Coetzee's unwillingness to acceptance or denial of their culture, English culture and urge to into sophisticated meshes of it, burning of heart by seeing poor people, animal killing, death of an Aunt abandoned in obscurity of illness and funeral and later dead display of emotions, thirst for ambition, ineptitude of playing outdoor games, mediocrity in school...

It was exactly my story, at most of the places.... Except the place, time, people but same idiosyncrasy, interest... I really wish I could meet Coetzee one day and tell him how I felt the resemblance of my childhood in this book.

Coetzee, for me, is JESUS.

There was no story but profoundly strewn descriptions...


Profile Image for Gabril.
823 reviews188 followers
February 12, 2021
Asciutto e penetrante, Coetzee racconta stralci della propria infanzia sudafricana. Lo fa scrivendo in terza persona, usando il tempo presente, ovvero il tempo antinarrativo per eccellenza (è una scelta frequente di Coetzee). Eppure il racconto c'è, l'ambiente fisico e umano pure. Ma l'autore non vi indulge, non è necessario.
Quel che conta è l'interiorità: i pensieri, le emozioni sempre trattenute, introiettate, l'esplorazione dei limiti, le considerazioni su se stesso e sul mondo, i legami familiari e le accese idiosincrasie. Esperienze radicali, che diventeranno fondamentali per la formazione successiva (ne vedremo gli esiti nel secondo libro autobiografico: Gioventù).
Una battaglia di resistenza, così appare la cruda esperienza della fanciullezza. Una cosa estremamente seria, in qualche modo definitiva, proprio perché definisce un carattere, descrive le linee di un destino.
Questo bambino taciturno, solitario, in competizione estrema col mondo che lo circonda e tende a plasmarlo secondo le proprie linee direttrici, questo bambino scontroso e determinato, intimamente refrattario alla compiacenza è l'immagine precisa dell'adulto, dello scrittore Coetzee, come (non) lo conosciamo: schivo e appartato. E infatti, lo scopriamo qui, "scrivere per lui non è come dispiegare le ali; al contrario, è come raggomitolarsi, farsi più piccolo e inoffensivo possibile".
Un libro intenso e vero, dove lo stile sorvegliatissimo sa raggiungere il perfetto equilibrio tra il sentimento di sé, l'interiorità assoluta, e il modo di darne conto a chi sta fuori.
Profile Image for أحمد شاكر.
Author 7 books620 followers
October 27, 2014
لما قرأت لهذا ا��رجل روايته (خزي)، تمنيت ساعتها أن أكون أنا كاتبها، وقلت: لا بد أن هذا الرجل يشبهني في شيء وأشبهه. وقررت متابعة القراءة له. واقتنيت في انتظار البرابرة، وحياة وزمن مايكل ك، من معرض القاهرة للكتاب أول هذا العام، واقتنيت أيام الصبا هذا من مكتبة مغمورة في وسط البلد، بسعر زهيد، وبدأت متابعة القراءة لكويتزي مرة أخري مع أيام الصبا.

وقد كان ما توقعته تماما: إنه يشبهني وأشبهه، وشعرت كأن مذكراته هي مذكراتي، لو قررت كتابتها فعلا. فهناك صفة إذا ما وجدت، سيترتب عليها أغلب بناء الشخصية؛ الخجل. إنه خجول، وأنا مثله. (يحكي عن فترة صباه حتي المراهقة)، يكذب، ويحب أمه، متخذا موقفا من أبيه. واختلفنا معا في نقطة حيوية: إنه يحب الرياضيات، ويكره الجغرافيا والتاريخ، عكسي تماما، في هذه النقطة.

وهناك نقطة جد واضحة، فكويتزي يمتلك ذاكرة بصرية حادة. كل الصور مكتملة وواضحة، كل الأسماء حاضرة، وكل التفاصيل الدقيقة.

عالم كويتزي رائع، وجميل. لا يمل منه.
Profile Image for Dagio_maya .
970 reviews295 followers
November 20, 2020
“Tutto ciò che fa a Worcester, a casa o a scuola, lo porta a credere che l’infanzia non sia nient’altro che un periodo in cui bisogna stringere i denti e resistere.”


”Viene da una famiglia anomala della quale vergognarsi, dove non solo non si picchiano i bambini, ma ci si rivolge agli anziani chiamandoli con il nome di battesimo, e dove nessuno va in chiesa e le scarpe si portano tutti i giorni.”

Ecco il racconto dell’infanzia del futuro Nobel Coetzee, dal momento in cui si trasferì con la famiglia da Città del Capo in quel di Worcester (oggi Western Cape).
Un’infanzia vissuta nella vergogna per non essere come la maggioranza.
Un mondo segreto di pensieri, sensazioni, pulsioni soffocate che nessuno deve conoscere.
Le difficoltà comuni del crescere, dunque, sommate ad un contesto sociale complicato per le tensioni di una convivenza difficile: afrikaner, inglesi, meticci, nativi.
Lingue e religioni che si sfidano; stili di vita che chiudono i recinti in un sistema d’inclusione ed esclusione.

Una scrittura a denti stretti.
La distanza della terza persona che narra crea un clima di freddezza: algido l’autore, diffidente chi legge che fatica a sintonizzarsi.

«Chissà perché Coetzee lo ha fatto?» mi chiedevo leggendo.
La scrittura autobiografica – si sa- comporta lo sforzo della confessione. Quello spogliarsi a volte impudico davanti a tutti. Certo c’è chi ha bisogno di esibirsi per narcisismo congenito ma c’è anche chi lo ritiene un compito arduo ma necessario come percorso di auto-analisi.
Ma Coetzee perché lo ha fatto quando si sente chiaramente che non c’è nessuno di questi bisogni?
Il tono è sforzato. Forse – ipotizzo- gli gravava fare quell’ammissione di aver provato gli estremi dell’amore e su cui verte un po’ tutto lo scritto: l’odio profondo per il padre e il legame morboso con la madre.
La mia lettura è, pertanto, proseguita con imbarazzo: come presentarsi a casa di qualcuno senza essere invitati.
Coetzee bambino sperimenta una scrittura che costruisce una corazza s’una personalità già di per sé introversa:
“Scrivere per lui non è come dispiegare le ali; al contrario, è come raggomitolarsi, farsi piú piccolo e inoffensivo possibile”

Cercavo tracce che guidassero le mie future letture e/o rischiarissero le passate di quest’autore che ammiro tantissimo. Ciò che ho trovato è l’origine di ciò che si dice e si è detto di lui: uomo schivo e riservato.
Testimoni lo hanno avuto come vicino a delle cene ufficiali (ad una delle poche che ha presenziato) dicono di non aver avuto il piacere di sentire mai la sua voce per tutta la serata.
Riluttante al pubblico tanto che avere un suo libro autografato è di tale rarità da poter sistemare economicamente una famiglia.
Un po’ asociale dunque.
Ma che importa di fronte al fatto che è lo scrittore di opere che hanno descritto in modo così preciso lo stato d’animo di una società dilaniata dai contrasti?
Profile Image for Juan Nalerio.
543 reviews118 followers
December 20, 2018
En Infancia, JM Coetzee nos abre la puerta de su vida y relata sus vivencias de niño en Ciudad del Cabo.
Su casa, la granja, su colegio y la relación con sus familiares pasan en esta novela autobiográfica muy bien escrita que nos permite conocer al Coetzee persona. (lo que él permite que conozcamos)
Muy recomendado.
Profile Image for Laura.
6,969 reviews578 followers
August 21, 2023
Once you start to read this book, you won´t be able to stop it. Looking forward for the second volume of this trilogy.

3* Elizabeth Costello
4* Disgrace
4* Waiting for the Barbarians
3* A Ilha
4* The Master of Petersburg
3* Slow Man
4* Age of Iron
4* Boyhood (Scenes from Provincial Life #1)
TR Youth (Scenes from Provincial Life #2)
TR Dusklands
TR Life & Times of Michael K
TR Summertime (Scenes from Provincial Life #3)
TR The Schooldays of Jesus
TR L'Abattoir de verre
Profile Image for Eva Guerrero.
196 reviews49 followers
June 29, 2020
Me recomendaron a Coetzee hace unos meses. Ya sé que no necesita recomendación, que es un Nobel, pero aún así yo nunca lo había leído, así que quise comenzar por esta trilogía. También me avisaron de que el primero de los tres era el más flojo, pero obviamente quería llevar un orden, y dentro de que efectivamente no me ha parecido una maravilla, sí ha conseguido engancharme con su forma de escribir (y de describir). Sin duda, seguiré con él.
Profile Image for Martin.
144 reviews2 followers
December 27, 2010
Everything I read from Coetzee has a profound impact on me. His words are so cutting, direct, affective, sincere, clear and concise. His ability to draw me in, paint a picture and transport me to wherever and whatever he is writing about astounds me. This is an autobiographical work with Coetzee himself as the narrator, referring to himself in the book as "he". I really like this approach because he is telling the reader about his life and the experiences that formed the man that he is today but as an observer, almost as if he is observing himself.

This is a short, easy read but still fantastically beautiful. "Boyhood" is a clear account of his life as an exceptionally intelligent boy growing up in South Africa in the 1950s. It is a bold, compelling, funny, raw account of a boy's life who is tormented by guilt, fear and confusion. How he feels as a boy and his observances of the world around him remind me of what it was like to look at the world through child's eyes and know that everything was not the way that it was supposed to be and to wonder how it would all turn out one day.
Profile Image for Eslam Abdelghany.
Author 3 books938 followers
February 7, 2017
ذكريات كويتزي عن أيام صباه وبواكير مراهقته،جاءت في معظمها جذابة وإن شابها في مواضع قدر من ملل.

والكتاب كما جاء على ظهر الغلاف في إقتباس من أحد الصحف"لوحة شخصية واقعية وغنية عن الطفولة" هنا الطفولة تشتمل على البراءة والنظرة الدهشة المتسائلة،كما تشتمل على القسوة الكامنة والعنف المختزن تحت جلد ولد صغير نشأ محاطا بقدر هائل من المتناقضات،ناهيك عن الكراهية التي كانت كامنة عند كل منعطف ووراء كل جدار.

يتسم أسلوب كويتزى هنا بالحسم وربما الفجاجة في الحكم على الناس والأشياء وهوما يمنح لنبرته في الكتابة قدرا من الصدق،لا نجده في كتاباتنا العربية المماثلة

عموما ومنعا للإطالة ذكريات كويتزي عن صباه البعيد مثلت بالنسبة لي قراءة سلسة وممتعة بقدر.

فالرجل لا يخذلني أبدا ولذلك أعُد نفسي من قرائه الأوفياء.

Profile Image for Chris Hall.
Author 7 books63 followers
February 20, 2021
Written in Coetzee's sparse prose, this short novel encapsulates the angst of the author's childhood, which he narrates in the third person as an onlooker, critically observing his younger self. The harsh contradictions of the Apartheid system in 1950's South Africa provide a compelling backdrop to the story of a child who is grappling to come to terms with his place in the world. Touches of humour invigorate an otherwise austere narrative, as the author leads the reader through a courageous self examination of his formative years and his uneasy relationships with his family, his peers and the world around him.
Profile Image for David Carrasco.
Author 1 book31 followers
April 29, 2023
Infancia cuenta la historia de John Coetzee, trasunto del propio autor, y ofrece una representación introspectiva de las propias experiencias de infancia del autor en Sudáfrica durante los años 50, sus relaciones con sus padres y su época escolar, entre los diez y los trece años. La novela es la primera de una trilogía de obras autobiográficas que también incluye Juventud y Verano.

La novela es una evocación detallada y cuidadosa del mundo interior de su protagonista, John Coetzee, y explora temas importantes como la identidad, la pertenencia o la búsqueda de sentido en la vida. John es un niño solitario que vive con sus padres y un hermano menor en una pequeña población de las afueras de Ciudad del Cabo. La relación con su padre es tensa y difícil, y el chaval lucha por encontrar un sentido de pertenencia en un mundo que a menudo lo hace sentir marginado y aislado. Una escuela en la que los alumnos son sometidos a castigos físicos reiterados, una personalidad introvertida, el desprecio que siente por su padre y la adoración que siente por su madre, aunque se cuide mucho de demostrárselo, marcan esos años de la infancia del protagonista.

A través de la prosa escueta y concisa de un narrador omnisciente, se nos muestran las complejas emociones, pensamientos y conflictos internos de John. Como en otras obras de Coetzee, la acción se narra en presente, por lo que en ciertos momentos nos parece estar leyendo un diario, aunque con la particularidad de estar narrado en tercera persona, tal vez con la intención de tomar una cierta distancia emocional de su propio personaje.

La novela está escrita en un estilo sencillo pero hermoso que es fácil de leer y que ayuda a transmitir la emotividad de los eventos que se están narrando. El tono de la voz narrativa es introspectivo y emocional, tomando incluso en ciertos momentos un matiz ingenuo y candoroso, como el que se supondría a un chaval de diez años, lo que refleja la naturaleza reflexiva y profunda del personaje principal. Coetzee utiliza frases cortas y simples para describir los detalles de la vida cotidiana de John, lo que acentúa la sensación de aislamiento y soledad que siente el personaje. La voz narrativa es evocadora y poética, lo que contribuye a la creación de una atmósfera emocionalmente intensa y a la exploración de temas profundos y universales, como la identidad, la soledad y la pertenencia. Al propio tiempo, es altamente descriptiva, lo que nos permite tener una imagen detallada de su entorno y su vida en Sudáfrica durante los años 50

Una de las características de la novela es su representación cruda de las duras realidades de la vida en la Sudáfrica de la era del apartheid. Coetzee no evita explorar las tensiones raciales y las injusticias sociales de la época, que provocan en el chaval sentimientos encontrados aunque aún sea demasiado joven para enfrentarse a ellos. Al mismo tiempo, Infancia también es una obra profundamente personal e introspectiva. Coetzee explora la vida interior de su protagonista con un ojo agudo para el detalle, capturando las complejidades de las emociones infantiles y la sensación de aislamiento que a menudo acompaña al crecimiento. El estilo de prosa escueto y poético de la novela es particularmente efectivo en transmitir el tormento interior del protagonista y su sentido de alienación ante hechos que no comprende.

Debido precisamente a esa introspección, la novela puede resultar lenta en su desarrollo. Aunque esto puede ser una virtud en términos de la exploración de temas profundos y la construcción de personajes complejos, también puede resultar frustrante para aquellos lectores que buscan una trama más rápida y dinámica, pues la novela carece de una trama como tal. Los eventos se presentan de forma pausada y no siempre de manera lineal. Esto puede hacer que algunos lectores se sientan aburridos o desconectados de la historia.

Como conclusión, Infancia es una novela notablemente bien escrita que ofrece un examen reflexivo de temas importantes, como la construcción de la identidad personal, la relación padres-hijos, o el sentido de pertenencia. La voz narrativa es cautivadora y la construcción del personaje protagonista es detallada y bien desarrollada, lo que permite que los lectores se sumerjan en la complejidad de su vida y experiencia. Aunque puede ser considerada una novela lenta en términos de su trama, la riqueza de sus temas y su profundidad temática hacen que valga la pena leerla.

Recomendaría la novela a los lectores interesados en la exploración profunda de la vida interior de los personajes y en la reflexión sobre temas como la identidad, la soledad y la pertenencia. También es adecuada para los lectores interesados en la historia y la cultura de Sudáfrica, así como para aquellos que aprecian la prosa poética y la narrativa introspectiva. Sin embargo, debido a que la novela no tiene una trama de acción intensa, puede no ser adecuada para los lectores que prefieren historias más dinámicas o de ritmo rápido.
Profile Image for Marica.
366 reviews161 followers
September 3, 2017
Una savana brucata dagli erbivori
La copertina mostra fiumi azzurri e verdi boschi, ma l'infanzia di Coetzee ricorda di più una savana brucata accuratamente dagli erbivori. Come si dice parafrasando, i periodi felici non hanno storia, quelli infelici hanno bisogno di parole per essere elaborati e se possibile superati: così Coetzee ci racconta la sua infelice infanzia, con una precisione e senso della misura ammirevoli. Era un bambino intelligente che analizzava attentamente le dinamiche familiari, subendole e ferendo a sua volta; consapevole dei difetti degli altri come dei propri; spaventato e orgoglioso. Una delle paure principali era quella di essere trasferito in una scuola afrikaans, lui che, di origine afrikaans, aveva fatto sua la cultura inglese e trovava insopportabilmente grossolani i compagni di origine boera. Uno dei desideri più grandi era vivere nella fattoria dello zio: entrambi i genitori venivano da famiglie proprietarie di fattorie e lui si sentiva esiliato nella piccola città, che non era Città del Capo, dalla quale a sua volta era esiliato, per via del lavoro del padre. Rapporto difficile col padre, perchè nonostante la buona cultura e gli inizi promettenti non aveva saputo gestire il denaro e aveva mandato la famiglia in rovina. Rapporto di odio e amore con la madre, che lo adorava e avrebbe fatto di tutto per lui: ma il troppo amore spesso non viene apprezzato (da ricordare: non se ne fa mai una giusta). Molto interessante la graduale scoperta del bambino delle diversità razziali e sociali: ci sono i sudafricani di origine inglese e quelli di origine olandese, mondi da lui percepiti molto diversi; poi i meticci, che in realtà erano tutti molto neri ai suoi occhi e i nativi, cioè i boscimani, percepiti giustamente come i veri signori della terra: non perchè la possedessero, no: perchè emanati dalla terra, figli di quella terra. E'bello, la cosa più bella del libro, capire come i coloni bianchi e il bambino percepissero questo legame superiore e rispettassero il senso di dignità di queste figure che facevano il loro lavoro, certamente duro e poco ricompensato, dando l'impressione di farlo non per necessità ma perchè lo volevano fare (come un personaggio di Corto Maltese, anche lui nero e lucido).
Coetzee è uno scrittore notevole, di ottima prosa ma soprattutto di grande lucidità.
Profile Image for Arybo ✨.
1,373 reviews156 followers
August 20, 2018
La tenuta intorno alla fattoria è enorme, al punto che quando, nel corso delle loro battute di caccia, lui e suoi padre arrivano a uno steccato che taglia il letto di un fiume, e suo padre annuncia che hanno raggiunto il confine tra Voëlfontein e la tenuta limitrofa, lui è colto alla sprovvista. Nella sua immaginazione Voëlfonstein è un regno a sé stante. Non basterebbe una vita per conoscerla tutta, conoscerne ogni pietra e ogni cespuglio. Il tempo non basta mai quando si ama un luogo con una simile vorace passione.
Voëlfontein la conosce meglio d’estate, quando si distende piatta sotto una luce uniforme, accecante, che si riversa giù dal cielo. Eppure Voëlfontein ha anche i suoi misteri, misteri che non appartengono alla notte e all’ombra, ma ai pomeriggi torridi, quando i miraggi danzano all’orizzonte e l’aria stessa gli canta nelle orecchie.



Voëlfontein, tenuta dello zio di Coetzee


Coetzee si immerge (e ci fa immergere) nel mondo di provincia del Sudafrica, dove persone di diversa ascendenza vivono in contatto, sebbene divise da credi, religioni e usanze diverse. La storia è narrata dal punto di vista di un ragazzino saccente e troppo presuntuoso, che tratta male la madre anche se la “ama” e disprezza il padre, che scialacqua i soldi della moglie. Il ragazzino vive inizialmente in un paese vicino Città del Capo, qui frequenta la scuola e viene a conoscenza della vita degli afrikaans e dei meticci, li osserva quasi con occhio scientifico, cercando di capire come vivano. D’altra parte però, si sente nelle sue parole una freddezza mentale che lo allontana da queste persone, anche se ripete varie volte che si vergogna per come vengono trattate. Il ragazzino vive nel Sudafrica post seconda guerra mondiale, tifa per gli inglesi ed ama i russi, adora il cricket. Vive in provincia ed è il primo della classe. Quando si trasferisce a Città del Capo, perde il privilegio di essere il più bravo della scuola, perde sicurezza in sé perché non trova persone che lo elogino, si stacca ancora di più dalla figura del padre, mentre il suo rapporto con la madre si fa contorto: da una parte la appoggia, dall’altra la guarda con compassione.

Non posso dire che sia stata una bella esperienza leggere i pensieri del ragazzino, e spesso mi veniva da chiudere il libro e mollare. Intere sezioni poco interessanti riprendono vigore con una o due frasi illuminanti, che spingono nella lettura. Sicuramente Coetzee è capace di dar voce a milioni di personaggi, e riesce a farlo bene ache con questo qui.

Ora deliziamoci con la vista di questa bella foto che ho trovato su internet... 😊



• 🕯NEWTs readathon (August 2018): Divination, exceed expectations (read a book under 200 pages)

• All-Over-The-World Book Challenge ✈️, per il paese Sudafrica 🇿🇦
Profile Image for Calzean.
2,650 reviews1 follower
June 26, 2018
Uniquely written fictional autobiography of Coetzee in Primary School. He uses third person, present tense and ,as he does in Youth, an unnamed narrator. At times each paragraph seemed to be another memory loosely bound within the Chapter's purpose.
This is a boy of softness, aware of his weaknesses and failures, who seethes against a failed father and adores his mother who keeps the family going. He sees himself as an outsider, confused with the actions of adults, fearful of having his own actions noticed and terrified of being punished. But people notice his difference and recognise he will be seen.
Profile Image for Marcello S.
560 reviews241 followers
December 5, 2016
Mi ci è voluto un po’ per penetrare lo stile refrattario, monocorde e feroce di Coetzee.
E non direi nemmeno di esserci riuscito del tutto.

Ci sono pochissimi dialoghi a delineare il rapporto tempestoso coi genitori, quello con i parenti, l’esperienza scolastica.
Le questioni preponderanti dell’identità e della religione.

Anche se in certi momenti ho pensato “non fa per me, potrei pure fermarmi qui”, in realtà alla fine ammetto di aver subìto un certo fascino e credo leggerò altro di suo. [70/100]
Profile Image for Bidisha.
48 reviews25 followers
May 28, 2020
Rating 4.2/5

Every Coetzee is a revelation to me. It is just so pure in its abundance and simplicity, as it is grey and intense. From Disgrace to Summertime to Boyhood, his accounts are evocative, to say the least. A sadness engulfs the reader and stays put.
*
This story is the account of his boyhood in provincial South Africa, where politics and religions and school life overlapped, leading to sardonic results. It makes for a quick read.
Profile Image for Roger DeBlanck.
Author 7 books134 followers
September 24, 2023
Coetzee has been among my favorite writers ever since I first ventured into his incredible range of work over twenty years ago. Age of Iron, The Master of Petersburg, and Disgrace rank among some of the most indelible and searing works of fiction I’ve ever experienced. Having read most of Coetzee’s work including his rarely-mentioned collections of profound essays, I have no good explanation for why I am only now reading his “autobiographies.”

Spanning three separate and rather short volumes, Boyhood is the first in the trilogy, and it is a formidable piece of autobiographical literature, at once confessional, solemn, melancholic, but also in strides funny. Coetzee indeed chronicles “scenes” from his childhood and adolescence, and he is most incisive with making a critical examination of his parents—a mother he both adored and found frustrating for her contradictions, and a father he both respected as a WWII veteran and resented for his alcoholism that induced seismic tremors within the family.

When remembering his experiences in school as a top-of-the-class student and his interactions with relatives, especially his joys of visiting his uncle’s farm out in the veld, he is masterfully observant with capturing details and moods. He is also adept with elaborating on a more philosophical and psychological level what his experiences and memories reveal about his childhood fears of death and his musings about the conundrum of his own existence.

Although Coetzee has a penchant for exploring the hardships of life, he shows he can be funny throughout his recollections, in particular with his “becoming” a Roman Catholic in a split-second after replying to a question that ends up impacting him at school. Even though Coetzee can make us smile, he is still more steady and assured with exploring the meaning of human struggle to endure and defy adversity. In recalling his own early years, Coetzee delivers an autobiography that is very good and entirely worthwhile, but not quite as brilliant as many of his acclaimed works of fiction.
Profile Image for Ebtihal Salman.
Author 1 book369 followers
November 26, 2015
لم اتوقع هذا من كويتزي. اعتقد ان السيرة الذاتية لتكون ناجحة تحتاج الى ثيمة مركزية، أو تنطوي على محنة ما يمر بها البطل. هذه السيرة تفتقر الى الاثنين. هي ببساطة يوميات حياة الطفل كويتزي في جنوب افريقيا. علاقته بوالديه ومحيطه ومدرسته. لم اجد فيها ما يشدني. ربما فقط في الصفحات الاخيرة فيما يتعلق بالكشف العاطفي لعلاقته بأمه وأبيه شعرت بالاهتمام. سأتفق مع من قال على كويتزي البقاء في كتابة الرواية. استخدمت الكتاب للمساعدة على النوم.
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