Disgrace

Disgrace (1999) is a novel by South African author J. M. Coetzee. It follows a white South African professor of English as he navigates the changing world of post-apartheid South Africa. Disgrace won the Booker Prize after its publication in 1999 and, four years later, Coetzee was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. In 2008, the novel was adapted into a movie starring John Malkovich and Jessica Haines.

This guide uses the 1999 Secker & Warburg edition of Disgrace.

Content Warning: The novel and this guide discuss sexism, sexual assault, stalking, sexual grooming, violence, and racism. Sexual assault is discussed at length in most sections of this guide.

Plot Summary

Disgrace opens in Cape Town, South Africa, in the 1990s, in the years following the dismantling of apartheid. David Lurie is 52 years old and a professor of English. However, at his university, the English department has been replaced by the Communications department, reflecting the changing needs of the students. David is forced to teach communications courses, which he dislikes.

David is twice-divorced, and he isn’t close to Lucy, his daughter from his first marriage. He has weekly appointments with a sex worker named Soraya. However, when he attempts to push their relationship into something romantic, Soraya stops seeing him.