Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2023
176 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
A psychologically probing, compulsively readable novel about dogged love and the unpredictability of human relationships—from the Nobel Prize–winning author of Disgrace.
Exacting yet maddeningly unpredictable, J. M. Coetzee's The Pole tells the story of Wittold Walccyzkiecz, a vigorous, "extravagantly white-haired" Polish pianist who becomes infatuated with Beatriz, a stylish patron of the arts, after she helps organize his Barcelona concert. Although Beatriz, a married woman, is initially unimpressed by Wittold, she soon finds herself pursued and ineluctably swept into the world of the journeyman performer. As he sends her letters, extends countless invitations to travel, and even visits her husband's summer home in Mallorca, their unlikely relationship blossoms, though, it seems, only on her terms. The power struggle between them intensifies—Is it Beatriz who limits their passion by controlling her emotions? Or is it Wittold, trying to force into life his dream of love?
Evocative of Joyce's "The Dead," The Pole is a haunting work, evoking the "inexhaustible palette of sensations, from blind love to compassion" (El País) typical of Coetzee's finest novels.
"Exquisitely elevating the fundamental influences of music and language, The Pole unequivocally affirms the often enigmatic relationships among art, love, and human experience."
―Booklist (starred review)
"[R]ich and engrossing ... The prose is unornamented but nevertheless consistently incisive. Coetzee's ability to render the human condition in all its vagaries is as masterful as ever."
―Publishers Weekly
"A droll novel that skips lightly across serious matters...Coetzee seems to be having some compassionate fun, and so will the reader." ―Kirkus Reviews
This information about The Pole was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
J.M. Coetzee's work includes Waiting for the Barbarians, Life & Times of Michael K, Boyhood, Youth, Disgrace, Summertime, The Childhood of Jesus and, most recently, The Schooldays of Jesus. He was the first author to win the Booker Prize twice and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003.
Name Pronunciation
J. M. Coetzee: kuut-SEE (different pronunciations can be found, but this is how Coetzee himself pronounces it)
This Is Salvaged
by Vauhini Vara
Stories of uncanny originality from Vauhini Vara, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.
The Wren, the Wren
by Anne Enright
An incandescent novel about the inheritance of trauma, wonder, and love across three generations of women.
25 Copies to Give Away!
A daring CIA operation threatens chaos in the Kremlin. But can Langley trust the Russian at its center?
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
