JM Coetzee's books are not easy to read. His writing is not easy to comprehend either at times. It takes a while for the reader to figure where he is going with the plot, but once the reader gets the hang of it, it is a cakewalk from thereon. Every time I pick up a Coetzee, I am a little apprehensive of how is it going to turn out. I know for a fact that the book will not be a happy one. His books generally are not. That is another supposition I kept in mind when I started reading his latest book, "The Childhood of Jesus".
Do not go by the title of the book. While the book is allegorical in nature, it is quite different from the childhood of Jesus. I think most readers would be tempted to read this one because of the title, however it is very different. The novel is very elusive. It is mysterious in so many ways and that is why to me in most places, it was a complex read. The book takes place in an alternate reality (see what I mean about the complex nature of the book), following a man named Simon and a boy named David, who have come to a place called Novilla. They aren't related. Simon has appointed himself as David's guardian and he wants to search for David's real mother, going only by his instincts and nothing else. They do not know how she
02:41 PM, Apr 20, 2013
Childhood is effectively over by the age of 12 for today's kids because of a "toxic" mix of Internet and pressure to become interested in sex before they are ready. ...
06:26 PM, Mar 06, 2013
President Barack Obama acknowledged on Friday that he wished his father had been a bigger part of his life as he argued that stronger families are just as important as gun control in reducing crime and violence in poverty-stricken neighborhoods. Obama returned to his old home neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago with a different take on his gun control message - that it will require an improved home...
01:28 PM, Feb 16, 2013
Once upon a time, till not very long ago, we used to have the Monsoons. Now, barring coastal areas, in most cities across Upper India, ...
03:27 PM, Jul 02, 2012
Summer vacations are a very complicated time for parents nowadays. Should one send one's daughter to a Vedic Maths class? Is one's son old enough ...
12:03 PM, Jun 11, 2012
New Delhi: Startling facts have come to light on the International Childhood Cancer Day on Wednesday. India records up to 45,000 new cases every year. Experts have said that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Ten-year-old Zube has been trying to come to terms with the word cancer. Ironically, he was was lucky enough to get diagnosed early, but his treatment was stopped midway and his cancer recurred....
10:22 AM, Feb 15, 2012
Just yesterday I was looking at some Facebook pictures uploaded by one of my friends. The album was titled 'my first trip to a village'. ...
10:21 PM, Jan 20, 2012
Voiceovers: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones Director: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff Once there was a lion cub who accidentally got dropped amid sheep and grew up believing and bawling like sheep. One day when a group of lions waylaid him and asked what a lion was doing amid sheep, he shivered for his life and said he was a sheep. They told him he was a lion and...
03:59 PM, Jul 30, 2011
Sydney: The way we talk to babies is key to building their ability to understand and create sentences of their own. The exaggerated speech we naturally use with tiny toddlers is special register - often called 'motherese', or mother's prattle. "We use changes in pitch and rhythm when we talk to children, and we emphasise important words. This is what children usually learn and produce first," says Katherine Demuth, who...
01:34 PM, May 09, 2011
Nearly 25 million women who married in 2007 younger than 18. ...
03:50 PM, Oct 06, 2009
Childhood diabetes requires a lot of awareness and a positive attitude. ...
07:42 PM, Nov 19, 2008
Melbourne: India skipper MS Dhoni admitted India must find a way to run through the lower-order quickly, in the aftermath of the 122-run loss to Australia in the first Test at the MCG on Thursday. The visitors' inability to polish off the tail had a telling effect on the outcome of the match. India let Australia make 240 in their second innings from the overnight total of 179 for eight,...
04:22 PM, Apr 04, 2008
Chennai: After his Man-of-the-Match effort in his team's easy win over New South Wales in the Champions League T20 here on Saturday, Cape Cobras opener Herchelle Gibbs said he would look to continue his form to stake a claim in the South African team for next year's World T20 Championship. "I would love to (repeat this performance) in every game but there are not easy games in cricket. I enjoy...
08:05 PM, Mar 03, 2008
It's a modern day town with modern day problems including surging rates of obesity. ...
03:17 PM, Jul 01, 2007
Childhood obesity may cause girls to reach puberty at an earlier age, says study. ...
01:39 PM, Mar 05, 2007
