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Work #775 · Late

Disgrace

J. M. Coetzee
1999 · English
Modern South African novel · Late-twentieth-century anglophone South African literature

Coetzee's 1999 post-apartheid novel of guilt, violence, and grace — Booker Prize 1999

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Disgrace (Late)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Experience
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Disgrace

The historical moment of post-apartheid transition.

Space

Disgrace

Cape Town and the Eastern Cape smallholding.

Matter

Disgrace

Embodied bodies, dogs, the land.

Observer

Disgrace

David Lurie, Lucy, the violators.

Energy

Disgrace

Energies of violence, shame, and grace.

Information

Disgrace

The unspoken understanding between father and daughter.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Disgrace

Coetzee's Disgrace: a touchstone of post-apartheid literature; a meditation on guilt, violence, dignity, and grace in a transitioning society.