![The Schooldays of Jesus](https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/f/663/222/9780735222663.RH.0.m.jpg)
The Schooldays of Jesus
by J. M. Coetzee
- Used
- Hardcover
- Condition
- 7.5 Bulk HB Standard
- ISBN 10
- 0735222665
- ISBN 13
- 9780735222663
- Seller
-
Peoria, Illinois, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Viking, February 2017. Hardcover . 7.5 Bulk HB Standard.
Reviews
On Sep 18 2016, CloggieDownunder said:
"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.
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- The Book Nook
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 935594
- Title
- The Schooldays of Jesus
- Author
- J. M. Coetzee
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - 7.5 Bulk HB Standard
- Quantity Available
- 1
- ISBN 10
- 0735222665
- ISBN 13
- 9780735222663
- Publisher
- Viking
- Date Published
- February 2017
- Pages
- 272
Terms of Sale
The Book Nook
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
The Book Nook
Biblio member since 2018
Peoria, Illinois
About The Book Nook
We started out as a small used book store about 20 years ago. We occupied a small storefront with approx. 1000 square feet. We would find books wherever we could. Frequenting estate sales, garage sales, and auctions was a normal occurrence for us. Bringing our customers the best quality books for an even better price was our goal.We now occupy four storefronts with approx. 7000 square feet and stock well over 200,000 items. We process approx 150-400 used books each day through our trade credit program. New items hit the shelves each and every day! Through it all we still strive for the same goal. TO BRING YOU THE BEST QUALITY BOOKS FOR AN AFFORDABLE PRICE.