Coetzee writes with precision and clarity but with precious little emotion. I felt no empathy with Michael K despite the ordeals he survives. He invites no synpathy because he subverts all who try to understand him and slips below the radar and away whenever he is imprisoned.
This is a cold but compelling read from the master story teller. Michael K's journey is for nothing and he surmounts numerous hurdles only to return to the place and life he left at the beginning. The meaning of Michael K's life slides away on all sides, and we are left to question the meaning of our own lives in the light of it.
