Revisiting the South Africa of half a century ago, the novelist J.M. Coetzee brings a writer's diagnostic skills to bear on his own past. With a father he could not respect, and a mother he both adored and resented, he picked his way through a world that refused to explain its rules.

In this absorbing memoir, the author recalls the deeply felt hopes, fears and insecurities of his South African childhood during the 1940's. He writes with clarity and wit about the complexities of family relationships and his experiences at school, while recording his observations about the rigid hierarchy of white people, 'coloureds' and 'natives'. An impressive account. (Kirkus UK)