Book Notes: The Master Of Petersburg

I was inspired to read The Master of Petersburg after reading the excellent Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee. I liked it more than The Life & Times of Michael K, but less than Disgrace. It was another meditation on loss, the effects of violence, and grief, but also father and son relationships, spirituality, love, and guilt. It was also telling of life in 19th century Russia and Dostoevsky in particular. I was a little unsure about what he was doing with some of the characters like the revolutionary Nechaev and the landlady's daughter Matrona/succubus. Perhaps they were symbolic or they were just Russian with the fits of passions. It just didn't have the emotional resonance of Disgrace, but engaging enough I suppose. I guess I'll take a break from Coetzee for a while-no more of his books on my shelf.