April 29, 2004

ON MY BOOKSHELF

‘Disgrace’
By J.M. Coetzee

ABCD, Almaden Book Club Devies

Never mind Charlie’s Angels, Wonder Woman, or Condoleeza Rice, the Almaden Valley has its own group of grrrl power-driven, lady super heroes. The only catch is this bunch hones their skills reading books, rather than busting bad guys.

ABCD, an acronym representing the recently coined Almaden Book Club Devies, consists of seven ladies, each a descendent of Indian heritage. Recently the group chose the ABCD moniker based on its residence coupled with the term Devies, a Hindi word for Indian Goddess. Joking, several group members agreed, “Hopefully nobody thinks we’re exclusive because we limit meetings to seven members and refer to ourselves as a group of Goddesses.”

With a name finally in place after meeting religiously, and anonymously, every month since May of 2001, all that remains for the women of ABCD is to choose their next book to read, a process organized in the most democratic fashion.

“Whoever hosts the meeting brings a list of books that they would like us to consider reading,” explained the ladies of ABCD. “That person has the floor to lobby for the book they really want, but in the end, we vote.”
Most recently, the vote resulted in the nomination of Nobel Prize winner, J.M. Coetzee’s “Disgrace.”

“Disgrace,” set in post-apartheid South Africa, details the fall of a college professor, David Lurie. Lurie, introduced initially as a contented professor of modern languages, really begins his struggle after administrators at Capetown University relegate him to a position as a professor of communications.

In the new position, Lurie becomes disillusioned with the true origin of language, resulting in behavioral outbursts, eventually driving himself out of the university to begin a new life living with his daughter who believes solely in a philosophy of sustenance. There, Lurie finds an intriguing world of wilds and begins a monumental piece, which he envisions as, perhaps, the greatest of his life’s works.

“It was a great book,” agreed the members of ABCD. “We definitely recommend this book to anybody interested in human nature. [Coetzee] has such a fluid style; it’s so easy to read. And, in terms of South Africa, he has some very powerful descriptions. “Disgrace” is very informative and a great read.”

As for ABCD’s next book, it was still up in the air at then end of their last meeting. But, whatever they choose, you can bet no page will be left unturned.

—By Justin Petersen