The Schooldays of Jesus, by JM Coetzee. Pub 2016
This is the second part of a trilogy by Coetzee. In the first book, we meet Simón, Inés, and David, an unusual family in a strange world. The precocious and strong-willed David is beloved and indulged by his “parents”, and causes difficulties at school, leading to the family’s flight from Novillo to a distant city.
Picking up where previous book left off, we find the family as migrant workers on a farm near Estrella. Their hitchhiker, Juan, has left them and the story (although I’m anticipating a return later, as otherwise his presence in the story was superfluous). As the harvest season ends, the family is at loose ends about what to do next. As it is generally agreed that David should attend school of some kind, the farm’s owners become his benefactresses, agreeing to support his attending a private school in Estrella. David is enrolled in the Academy of Dance, and the family moves to town. The Academy is located above the local art museum, and is strange, promising a complete education but employing no teachers other than the enigmatic Arroyos – señor Juan Sébastian and señora Ana Magdalena. Students learn to “dance the numbers”, and that numbers are derived from the stars. Shortly after starting, David demands to board at the school, leaving Simón and Inéz on their own; the couple soon separate.
Lurking about the school is Dmitri, the custodian of the museum and general dogsbody for the Academy. Dmitri is infatuated with Ana Magdalena, whose ethereal appearance and demeanour, like a statue come to life, both attract and repel most people. In a fit of madness, Dmitri murders Ana Magdalena, and much of the novel is given over to this crime, the trial and sentencing, and the aftermath and impacts on the Academy and David. There is also a census about to happen, something that worries the family but is ultimately a non-event. By the end of the novel, there is promise that the Academy will reopen, but the fates of each of the family members are uncertain.
A continued theme is about passion. David tries to get explanations for passions – are they good or bad things? Does everyone have them? Why do we need or want them? When looking at the various school options, David is asked about what he wants to be in life – what are his passions? He’s only 6, so he hardly has any other than perpetually asking “why” about everything. At the Academy, he learns a bit about a passion for dance and music, and their mystical association with numbers, but as expected in such a strange child, these become somewhat all-consuming, creating barriers and conflict with and between Simón and Inéz. When Dmitri commits his crime, people blame his passions – his overwrought infatuation and associated lust – and this confuses David: should we follow our passions or not? As expected, this is a much more complicated question, and one that is still being wrestled with at the end of the book.
This book was less enjoyable than the first one, as the depth of exploration of the Dmitri-crime story line felt too distracting from the story of the family and David, now split up and seemingly on separate paths. There was also less immediate connection to the life of Jesus, although that’s only speculation as his life as a child is not well documented. What is interesting still is to see this story from the “Joseph” perspective. Simón’s sense of alienation and growing separation from David, despite his ongoing love and devotion to him, reflects what was perhaps Joseph’s sense of superfluousness to Jesus’ life.
I’ll move on shortly to the third book in the trilogy, and hopefully there will be resolution of these threads, although likely much unhappiness.
Fate: I’m hanging on to this one as part of the series, and then will likely divest the entire set as one.
rclr 