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The Childhood of Jesus
by Coetzee, J. M
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- ISBN 10
- 0670014656
- ISBN 13
- 9780670014651
- Seller
-
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
(New York: Viking, 2013) 9780670014651. First edition. 8vo; original black boards, lettered in gilt on spine; laminated pictorial dustwrapper; pp. (vi) + 277. Fine condition. "An eerie allegorical tale told largely through dialogue, The Childhood of Jesus is a literary feat--a novel of ideas that is also a tender, compelling narrative. Coetzee's many fans will celebrate his return while new readers will find The Childhood of Jesus an intriguing introduction to the work of a true master." .
Synopsis
J. M. COETZEE's work includes Waiting For the Barbarians, Life & Times of Michael K, Boyhood, Youth, Summertime, Disgrace and Diary of a Bad Year . He was the first author to win the Booker Prize twice and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003.
Reviews
On Mar 18 2014, CloggieDownunder said:
The Childhood of Jesus is the twelfth stand-alone novel by award-winning author, J.M.Coetzee. David and Simon are newly arrived in the town of Novilla, after being processed at a camp where they were arbitrarily assigned new names and birthdates, and learned some basic Spanish. David was separated from his parents and, on the boat journey to his new country, has lost any information that he once had about them, so Simon decides to help him find his mother. In common with all the townspeople, they arrived washed of memories, but Simon is convinced he will know David’s mother when he sees her. In this environment without any history, the residents count themselves lucky not to suffer from memories of their past and concentrate on making a new life: goodwill and tolerance is common, but passion and yearning are virtually absent. In this slightly bizarre, seemingly third-world and possibly post-apocalyptic setting, Coetzee uses the encounters his characters have with neighbours, officials, work colleagues and random strangers to philosophise about various aspects of life: attraction and beauty; self-belief; work that fulfils; progress; the reality of history; rules and non-conformity; power and law-enforcement; and whether philosophical non-conformity warrants punishment. The novel has a tongue-in-cheek quality: the humour is often warped; there are Biblical undertones and parts are decidedly surreal. The feel of this new world is well conveyed, although readers may find the characters difficult to relate to, as nothing is ordinary in the world Coetzee has created. This is certainly unlike any other novel I have read: a unique experience.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Christison Rare Books, IOBA SABDA
(ZA)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 12603
- Title
- The Childhood of Jesus
- Author
- Coetzee, J. M
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 0670014656
- ISBN 13
- 9780670014651
- Publisher
- (New York: Viking, 2013) 9780670014651
- Place of Publication
- New York
- This edition first published
- 2013-09-03
- Keywords
- J. M. Coetzee. South African literature. Modern first editions. Novels. Nobel literature laureates. Booker prize winners South African Literature
- Bookseller catalogs
- South African Literature;
Terms of Sale
Christison Rare Books, IOBA SABDA
All books offered subject to availability. Returns are accepted where we have erred materially in our description of goods.
About the Seller
Christison Rare Books, IOBA SABDA
Biblio member since 2018
Port Elizabeth
About Christison Rare Books, IOBA SABDA
Christison Rare Books operates as a mail order business, based in Port Elizabeth. We are members of IOBA and SABDA. Whereas we stock thousands of books on a wide variety of subjects, our focus has always been on SE Africa - its peoples, wildlife and history. The store is managed by Lindsay Christison. Although we do not run an open book shop, prospective customers who would like to examine items described in our on-line list of stock are welcome to make an appointment.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...