The Childhood of Jesus (J M Coetzee, Text)

Simón and David have stepped off a boat in a new country. After six weeks in a camp learning Spanish, they present themselves at Novilla’s relocation centre. ‘Good day,’ says Simón. ‘We are new arrivals.’ The locals treat the pair coolly as Simón and David struggle to grasp the customs of their new country and become ‘washed clean’ of life before their arrival—including their memories. The man and boy have a goal: to track down young David’s mother, whose reassigned name and situation they do not know. To say The Childhood of Jesus is a highly anticipated novel is an understatement; there has already been talk that it will bring J M Coetzee his third Booker Prize. I was transfixed. It’s a novel best read with little knowledge of the plot, which moves along steadily with an underlying pulse of intensity. Coetzee’s present-tense style is seamless, and as always his prose is taut. The ultimate effect is more psychological than emotional, with Coetzee questioning broad aspects of the human condition—such as the value of philosophy, sex, intellectual labour and communication—and allowing the answers to remain implicit at the novel’s end. Simón is an engaging protagonist whose displacement is keenly felt, and whose love for David belies his pragmatic nature. David is a deeply interesting character whose unique way of thinking—about numbers, stars and cracks we might fall into—poses a threat to the moral order of his newfound surroundings. The Childhood of Jesus will challenge the way we think about this world—and the next one.

Kate Blackwood is editorial assistant at Books+Publishing 

Category: Reviews