lokroma reviewed Pole: A Novel by J. M. Coetzee
Review of 'Pole' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A Polish pianist is invited to Barcelona to play Chopin. A local woman is asked by a friend to make arrangements to feed and entertain him after the concert. The pianist falls in love with the woman, whose feelings aren't reciprocal, but who is nevertheless intrigued. She even invites him later to spend time with her at her family vacation home in Mallorca (after her husband has left).
This is a novel about the complexities of communication: in relationships, in literature, and in music. The Pole and the woman he loves each speak a different language, so they use imperfect English, the only language they share -- a brilliant literary conceit of Coetzee's. Beatriz constantly questions Witold's choice of words and the meaning behind them; and she prefers Claudio Arrau's interpretation of Chopin to the Pole's; and while she wonders why he didn't actively seduce her, she also criticizes him …
A Polish pianist is invited to Barcelona to play Chopin. A local woman is asked by a friend to make arrangements to feed and entertain him after the concert. The pianist falls in love with the woman, whose feelings aren't reciprocal, but who is nevertheless intrigued. She even invites him later to spend time with her at her family vacation home in Mallorca (after her husband has left).
This is a novel about the complexities of communication: in relationships, in literature, and in music. The Pole and the woman he loves each speak a different language, so they use imperfect English, the only language they share -- a brilliant literary conceit of Coetzee's. Beatriz constantly questions Witold's choice of words and the meaning behind them; and she prefers Claudio Arrau's interpretation of Chopin to the Pole's; and while she wonders why he didn't actively seduce her, she also criticizes him for being too sentimental; and asks herself why the poems he wrote and left to her are in Polish, not English. Yet she is also strangely detached from their relationship.
Coetzee's sparse and tightly structured language offsets the messiness and perplexity of connection. He has created a vivid picture of the impediments to genuine interchange whether it comes in the form of a poem, a language, a piece of music, or simply in an inability to interpret another person's words. Most of us seek attachment to the people and things we meet, love, or care about, but we often have trouble parsing what's coming at us.
