The Schooldays of Jesus

Passion vs. rationalism. Romanticism vs. pragmatism. Idealism vs. realism. These are the core issues in Nobel Prize winner Coetzee's novel, a sequel to The Childhood of Jesus. In a world where people arrive by boat, where they are given new names after their memories have been erased, Simón, Inés and a boy named David come together by happenstance. The child possesses some special talents, it seems, but his greatest satisfaction comes from manipulating the people around him. Now of school age, he first attends a traditional school, but after constantly pushing the limits he is asked to leave. David then attends the Academy of Dance, where he flourishes, but complexities abound. The life of the academy involves mysticism, sexuality, and violence—all of which result in belabored philosophical questions regarding idealogy and the "stars between the stars." Within a "false utopia" such as this, finding analogies to the life of Jesus is a mind-bending and frustrating task. Is it the author's intention to tell a story, or does he want readers to walk a labyrinth that has no end?