A Curtsey to Coetzee

OMG I've finally, at last, got round to reading Disgrace, JM Coetzee's epic account of the dirty, jagged inevitable march of justice. Respect. The gaunt narrative follows the downfall of college lecturer David Lurie, from the seduction of one of his students which he perpetrates, to the horrific, metaphorically retributive rape of his own daughter, which he is unable to forestall. I won't anatomise the plot in too much detail - read the book yourself, if only for the pure notes Coetzee's prose strikes.


What did it teach me most as a writer? How important it is to empathise with your main character, for your readers to identify with her even if they don't like her very much - it's an extraordinarily subtle trick to pull off. You might want to have a go at it yourself: try writing a piece in which your heroine is initially alienating, but whom you end up liking inspite of yourself. How to do it? Start with her journey towards self knowledge, and see where it leads....