Life & Times of Michael K

Civil war in South Africa. Hunger, suffering, and death fill the air. A small man, Michael K., who is looked at askance because of his harelip, carries his exhausted mother back to her native lands. She is too worn out to withstand the journey in a tin cart—death comes for her right on the road, and Michael is left alone in an unjust world.

Prison, torture, and a labor camp are only a small part of what he will have to face. But despite the chaos around him, Michael makes his way toward peace and freedom.

“Life and Times of Michael K.” is a devastating story of an entire era, where each person has their place as either the loser or the winner. A novel about loneliness, despair, and resilience—one that earned J. M. Coetzee his first Booker Prize.