Boyhood is a quick read but a slow grower. It’s under 200 pages, and I finished it without feeling any real impact, which is the first time that I can say that about a J.M. Coetzee novel. The book is about young J Coetzee, ten years old at the beginning of the book. He’s fiercely loyal to his mother and he has no affection for his father. He excels in school without great effort. Life in rural South Africa is difficult for his family. 

I know very little about South African history, so the familiarity with which young Coetzee describes the various group dynamics and social structures were a little alienating at first — I spent some time learning about Afrikaaners, Coloureds and other various groups so that I could get the context of the story. 

On the other hand, the thoughts and feelings of young Coetzee were real to the point of discomfort. In this, it reminded me of the book 3 in Knausgaard’s My Struggle series, subtitled Boyhood Island. Both Knausgaard and Coetzee capture the drama, petty politics, awkwardness and earnest, cringeworthy confidence that a young boy goes through at that age.

This isn’t the best Coetzee novel I’ve read — Waiting for the Barbarians and Disgrace are both first-ballot hall-of-famers for me. Knowing more about South African history and sociology would likely make this book more approachable, and it definitely feels like a book I would read again.

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