Please read the first part of this review under the book title Boyhood at https://mouthshut.com/readreview/55306-1.html
It might be perhaps intentional or unintentional, but there is a remarked difference in the two novels even though they are quite literally the same. In fact, the prose, the style and the writing never ceases to change, and yet the change in both the books comes across to you. Perhaps, that is the biggest strength of writing of this author.
Discover a very emotionally written Boyhood filled with incidents that simply linger on in your mind; at the same breadth, you are bound to get struck by the raw emotiveness of Youth. Smaller incidents and smaller questions mark the boy’s life – “Why am I not normal?”, “Why will aunt not stay with us?” to his sexual awakening as an adolescent. At Youth, discover john asking himself “when will my time come”, “why can’t I write”, “Where am I going?”.
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Moments haunting you long after appear in both the books, but perhaps, it is the largeness of the surroundings that make Boyhood richer in terms of story setting and discovery. In a bus, besides his mother, he lets something go in the wind – nothing dramatic about it, but yet so poignantly recalled. At his school, he doesn’t know what he is - A Christian, a Catholic, A Jew or someone else; and a price he pays for being one of them. His turmoil not only stems from his own family, but also due to the surroundings or probably the lack of them.
Conversely, an older John needs to find himself first. His questions and his world is limited to him, his poetry, and his ambitions. Perhaps, it’s the smallness of the surroundings of Youth and the remarkable process of self discovery which has its own moments. While, not many moments strike you, yet his discoveries on appropriate behavior with the Indian couple, or his inner feelings when he beds a woman he doesn’t want to stay with. But perhaps, it is own self in the other Indian that is the most memorable part of the book.
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Coetzee writes without inhibitions and without any premonitions of writing a well sounding completely justifiable autobiography; which is the strength of both the books; He is not writing about how he made through his life, nor does he aim to preach you anything. He merely recites his journey, allowing you, as a reader to make judgments about him. Nor does he overcome all his fears or all his weaknesses, but then he didn’t need to be.
Like in any other Coetzee book, (or maybe the resemblances to others these two books have) is the ending. Like his other works, the books just end; just right, just about time, as if its almost Coetzee knows its about time wrap up.
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Overall
Boyhood and Youth, are a very well written memoir of a very distinguished author of our times. Its difficult writing reviews on both of them, for they must be read – first Boyhood and then Youth in that order only.
Overall – yet another must – read books from Coetzee.