J M Coetzee's The Childhood of Jesus: A Postmodern Allegory?

Author:

Dimitriu, Ileana

Publisher:

Taylor & Francis

Date published:

2014

Record type:

Journal article

Journal Title:

Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa

Source:

Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa, Vol. 26, No. 1, May 2014, pp. 70-81

Subject:

J M COETZEE,

THE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS,

ALLEGORY,

POSTMODERNISM

Abstract:

The argument is that J M Coetzee's novel, The Childhood of Jesus (2013), may best be interpreted as ‘postmodern allegory’, in which the deconstruction of suspicion is embodied, paradoxically, in a reconstruction of purpose. It is a purpose in which the ‘real’ of the quotidian is held in tension with an impulse to transcendence. Playing seriously with New Testament motifs in a novel which, despite its title, has no figure in the action named “Jesus”, Coetzee explores the oxymoron of secular spirituality as apt to our uncertain times.

Language:

English

Catagory URL:

http://www.tandfonline.com

CITATION: Dimitriu, Ileana. J M Coetzee's The Childhood of Jesus: A Postmodern Allegory? . : Taylor & Francis , 2014. Current Writing: Text and Reception in Southern Africa, Vol. 26, No. 1, May 2014, pp. 70-81 - Available at: https://library.au.int/j-m-coetzees-childhood-jesus-postmodern-allegory-3