Life and Times of Michael K  (English, Paperback, Coetzee J.M.)

Life and Times of Michael K is a touching story about Michael K and his life after his mother's death. His behavior at many intervals during the story may make it seem like he is not keen on living. However, this is not the case as he wants to live life, but will only live it his way and no other.

Summary of the Book

Michael K is a young man with a cleft lip. His mother was repulsed by his deformity and left him in a government institution when he was very little. She did not care for him throughout, but when it was her turn to be cared for, Michael K showered her with affection and took care of her till her death. On the way to leaving her at her birthplace, Prince Albert, his mother dies and K decides to take her ashes there. As time goes, Michael works at a railway track, a farm on Prince Albert and is eventually sent to work at a work camp when he is found in a malnourished state by the police. He goes back to the farm and makes his own shelter in the open, as he feels claustrophobic in the house on the farm. He suffers from malnutrition again and is taken by authorities to a rehabilitation camp in Cape Town. Here, the doctor is fascinated by Michael and his behavior. He realizes how important it is to K that he lives his life his own way. Throughout the book, Michael shows a special fondness and craving for freedom, and he will go to any length to attain it.

About J. M. Coetzee

John Maxwell Coetzee is a South African novelist, linguist, essayist and translator. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in the year 2003. He later relocated to Australia and lives in Adelaide. In 2006, he became an Australian citizen. He has previously been awarded the CNA Prize, the Prix Femina Etranger, The Irish Times International Fiction Prize and the Booker Prize.