Youth
is a short novel, less than 200 pages. Yet the ability to convey in a few
sentences what would take other writers paragraphs continues to be evident in
J.M. Coetzee’s writing.
Youth
tells a familiar story for people who live in the Commonwealth and what was
even more widespread during the 1950’s and 1960’s when the story is set. It
deals with migration and immigration. The narrator dreams of going to London to
get away from his home country; when he gets there he will be able to live
fully and truly be an artist.
The
opening portion of the book is set in the University of Cape Town. The
Sharpeville massacre, civil unrest and the possibility of a military draft
finally give the narrator enough excuses to leave for London.
Just
like the immigrant tales we are accustomed to, the gap between real London and
fantasy London was too large to be bridged. The narrator takes a job as a
computer programmer, which is monotonous but still he knows that must strive to
become a poet. The alienation of the London populace keeps weighing him down
after time. He cannot pass as an Englishman but deems it necessary to eliminate
all ties with his homeland.
Youth
has parts of the immigrant experience we are accustomed to reading about. The
experience we find in books such as Selvon’s The Lonely Londoner’s and Naipaul’s The Mimic Men. The alienation and displacement are familiar themes
of the immigrant experience but Coetzee’s narrator attempts to pass as an
Englishman. This is an option that is impossible for the ethnic minority
characters we are accustomed to. The different view of the immigrant experience
is refreshing by the very familiarity it brings.
The
narrator has ideas about poetry and love that rule his life. He expects that
one must suffer for art and the ability to be able to create things of beauty. But there is one
consolation: “''Because they are creators, artists possess the secret of
love,'' and women, wanting to be brushed by ''the sacred fire,'' instinctively
recognize this.”
Unfortunately
for the narrator, absolutely nothing in his life happens according to his
ideas. Youth speaks about that part of life when one has several dreams, all of
them seemingly just out of reach. The period of life where frustration is all
too regular.
While
Youth is supposedly a story about a young man attempting to become a writer,
the narrator never writes much. Given the semi-autobiographical nature of this
novel, it seems that the narrator of the story and J.M. Coetzee have nothing in
common as writers. Perhaps when J.M. Coetzee publishes a book about his life
after 23 we will find out what made him such a great writer.
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