DNF - Althought I was eager to read this book, it didn't end up working for me in the end. I'm sure there is an audience out there who will appreciate the story for all that it holds.

J.M. Coetzee’s The Pole is a deceivingly simple novel, centered around Wittold, a vigorous and extravagantly white-haired pianist and interpreter of Chopin who becomes infatuated with Beatriz, a refined arts enthusiast, after she lends her assistance in arranging his concert in Barcelona. Despite her initial lack of interest in Wittold and his “gleaming dentures,” Beatriz, a married woman, eventually becomes intrigued and drawn into his world. As the pianist sends her countless letters, extends invitations to travel, and even visits her husband’s summer home in Mallorca, their unlikely relationship blossoms, though only on Beatriz’s terms.

The more Wittold and Beatriz communicate, the less they understand each other. Pre-defined names, conditions and terms for feelings, connections and relationships no longer work. Despite the myriad ways humans can express themselves, understanding the true intentions, desires, and thoughts of the other can still feel elusive. And yet, this chance encounter between two such different strangers suddenly changes everything.

By re-inventing the all-encompassing Dante's love for Beatrice and shedding light on the enigmatic nature of romance, love and truth, Coetzee creates a truly captivating piece, written in a sparse yet powerful prose. Although I feel I might lack all the necessary insight to fully appreciate it, The Pole left a lasting impression on me as a reader, inspiring me to explore more works by this well-regarded author.

Many thanks to W. W. Norton & Company | Liveright who kindly provided me with an advanced reading copy via NetGalley.

JM Coetzee is so phenomenal at examining the psychological worlds of his characters. These books that explore the senses of self and in relation to troubling situations are so important and so tightly written.

Many thanks to W. W. Norton (Liveright) and NetGalley for an advance reading copy of this book.

"The Pole" is a psychological story about an unconventional affair between Beatriz, an attractive married woman in her late-forties, and Wittold, a lonely Polish concert pianist in his seventies. Wittold is invited to perform a recital at the Sala Mompou in Barcelona. Beatriz sits on the board that selects musicians who are invited to perform and that runs the recitals. When another board member falls ill the day of Wittold’s recital, Beatriz unexpectedly becomes responsible for hosting Wittold and treating him to dinner after his performance. Although the dinner is uneventful, a week later Beatriz receives a package from Wittold containing a CD of Chopin Nocturnes that he recorded and a note that reads: “To the angel who watched over me in Barcelona. I pray the music will speak to her.” Despite their affair, Beatriz’s and Wittold’s feelings are not mutual. Following their Mallorca affair, Beatriz returns to Barcelona. Time passes and an unexpected event and situation occurs which, through Beatriz’s actions and voice, show that perhaps her tone has changed and that she loves Wittold after all.

The Pole
By J. M. Coetzee

It's taken me a while to write a review for this novel. How do I write an objective review about a story I so significantly identify? The Pole is a love story but not a love story. It is a story about friendship, but not much of a friendship. In this novel, Coetzee does what Coetzee does best, with razor-sharp precision; he concisely writes what we all have felt and, in this case, what a middle-aged woman feels when she meets someone who tells her: "She gives him peace. She gives him joy". (pg. 32)

Beatriz is nearing 50 and is a mother and a wife. She is content in life, "an intelligent person but not reflective [however] a portion of her intelligence consists of an awareness that excess reflection can paralyze the will." (pg 4).
Witold Walczykiezicz is a 70-year-old Polish pianist known for interpreting Chopin's works. When he arrives in Barcelona to perform, he meets Beatriz, a socialite who seems forced to be a hostess during his visit. Witold immediately falls in love with Beatriz, claiming that she is Beatrice to his Dante.
But Beatriz is anything but attracted to Witold. In fact, she has "emerged from her explorations with no great respect for men and their appetites, no wish to have a wave of male passion splash over her" (pg 27).
But something about Witold compels Beatriz to join this strange musician's world, but will it be as a friend or a lover?

This novel, with its unique structure that resembles a narrative poem, is a captivating read. I was initially provided a free digital copy from Netgally and the publisher, but I was so enthralled that I ended up purchasing a hard copy. I am certain to revisit it, or at least reread portions of it, in the future.

While the main characters of this novel may be middle-aged and elderly, their experiences and responses are deeply human, making them relatable to readers of all ages. The beauty of the prose and the depth of the sentences serve as expert examples of author craft, inviting readers to delve into the intricacies of the narrative.

Thank you to Netgalley and W.W. Norton and Company for the free copy.

I reviewed this book on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/vKgdQ2AINqI?si=DwImzCEgw4Qqebw4&t=515

Audio script:

"The next book is JM Coetzee’s The Pole, published just this month. This is a tiny little novel, but as I think about what to say, I’m really struck by how expansive it is. I read a review on one of my favorite book review sites that insisted that this book is at least mostly a comedy. Although there are certainly moments that are funny, I don’t read the book that way at all. In fact, I find it quite poignant. I suspect the reviewer was responding to what I saw as a heartbreaking lack of awareness and self-knowledge in the main female character, traits that sometimes lead to sudden and unexpected plot twists.

"This is the story of Beatriz, a married patron of the arts, who is hosting a visiting musician—The Pole—that is, a pianist from Poland—as he performs in Barcelona. He is famous for his interpretations of Chopin—music she feels he almost strips of romance. Similarly, The Pole tries to initiate a relationship with Beatriz, but there too he seems to avoid any overt romantic expression. At some point, it becomes clear that he might be seeing her as a beloved guide, just as Dante saw his Beatrice. Their friendship develops, and doesn’t develop, in ways that highlight questions about love and passion…and compassion, as well as about self knowledge, acceptance, and honesty. I found this book quite moving, even though the characters always seem to be held at arms’ length in some way."

I am a big fan of Coetzee's simple and spare narratives. While this is not one of his best, this is nonetheless a compelling and sincere novel.

This was a really fun read. Short, unpredictable, and touching. This is the first book by Coetzee I have read, and I am excited to dig into his other work. I think I'll go to Disgrace next.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

The Pole was a slow burner of a book, and atmospheric and... Captivating in its own way, although it was about little else other than a love affair, and how it meant the world to the man, but the fascination to the woman was more her reflection in his eyes.

Interesting and unusual in its subtlety. A one-of-a-kind book about romance, heartbreak, devotion, and self discovery.

I would love to read more from this talented author.

I own books by the Nobel- and twice-Booker winner Coetzee on my shelf (largely because I collect these orange penguin editions) but this short novel is first I've read from the South African author. Listening to this book felt like an intellectual exercise: the Pole of the title is an aging pianist who visits Barcelona to perform works by Chopin. While there he meets Beatriz, a middle-aged socialite who volunteers with the Concert Circle, the organization that hosts the Pole. (They call him "the Pole" because the Spaniards of the Concert Circle don't even try to correctly pronounce all the consonants in the man's Polish name.) Beatriz and the Pole converse only briefly, and in English—which neither of them speaks fluently—so Beatriz is stunned when, months after his departure, she receives a flirtatious message from the man. And as a reader I was likewise stunned to see the two enter into an affair—though that isn't really what the story is about. I feel like a literature seminar could spend a semester unpacking everything this book has to say about place, language, translation, and love—and Dante and his Beatrice.

When I started reading <i>The Pole</i> I had a sense of dread that Coetzee was going to fall into the trap of writing the cliche of a skilled, elderly artist falling in love with a younger woman. I had a mounting dread in the first few pages, but it soon became obvious that what he offers with <i> The Pole</i> is more biting. The affair is ugly and frustrating for what is said and what remains unsaid by both the aging musician and his love interest. His writing is sparse (the book's page count is just 176), and it captures the failings of communication between the two protagonists.

<i>The New York Times</i> review of <i>The Pole</i> says that this isn't his strongest work, which isn't a bold claim. I do think it's one of his more accessible works, and an easy entry point for people who haven't had the opportunity to read much of Coetzee's previous work.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Witold, a Polish pianist, is in his late 70s, perhaps not coincidentally the same age as Coetzee, when he finally meets the love of his life in Beatriz, a Barcelona-born banker’s wife in her late 40s. It is partly a love story, or rather a novel about the mysteries of Love, both erotic and platonic, and partly a subtle narrative about language and words as barriers to our souls. And yet, this master of words succeeded to move this reader with his Pole. Heart-wrenching.

My thanks to W. W. Norton & Co. and NetGalley for an ARC.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

An elderly Polish musician falls in love with a woman while visiting her city. They meet again a few times and he leaves a box for her upon his death.

Thank you to W.W. Norton & Company & NetGalley for advance access to this novel in exchange for an honest review.

"The Pole" is a concise, yet powerful, exploration of love, destiny, and the intangible bonds that both bring individuals together and sadly tear them apart. I've previously read the masterful "Disgrace" from J.M. Coetzee, and similarly, I'm taken with the author's methodical and unnerving prose, entirely expected and no less diminished with age or time. Beatriz and Witold are fascinatingly complex and unknowable characters, but I couldn't help but want to continue in the journey of discovery with them. Witty, introspective, erudite, bittersweet, and so much more. This is unlike any novel I've encountered before, and I'd highly recommend this gem to anyone.

First, this is my first time reading anything by J.M. Coetzee. Second, I found the book very short, short chapter length, short on pages, but NOT short on impact. In fact, it still lingers. The Pole is a story of a Polish pianist, Wittold Walccyzkiecz, whose name she cannot pronounce, and really doesn't try, so she calls him the Pole. He sees her, becomes infatuated with her, and then pursues her. Beatriz, though, is married, but to a man who seems to not see her or be in love with her, but rather a marriage over time that has become one of convenience. Wittold starts his pursuit of Beatriz, who becomes a reluctant player in the dance, and yet the story is told entirely by Beatriz's viewpoint, in where she 'thinks' she understands her admirer and what he sees in her, and yet soon discovers that she doesn't, and is now in pursuit of trying to understand herself, and what she sees in her admirer. Well done!
*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is my own opinion*

A thoughtful little novel from J.M. Coetzee. It’s very brief and structured in a strange way: instead of chapters, we’re given parts (six of them), five of which are populated by numbered paragraphs, almost like the proposition form of something like Wittgenstein’s Tractatus (that, though, is where the similarities stop between the two) or Maggie Nelson’s Bluets. Beatriz, about to turn fifty, is a manager for a concert series in Barcelona and comes into contact with a pianist named Witold Walczykiewicz, a famed interpreter of Chopin (apparently an austere, dry Chopin, “Chopin as inheritor to Bach,” is I think how his playing is described). Witold is in his 70s when they meet and he apparently falls head over heels for her; Beatriz isn’t really interested in him romantically but can’t seem to shake the fascination with him, and a sort of affair ensues. There’s a lightness of touch to Coetzee’s writing—this is my first time reading him, so who knows if this holds across his work—that reminds me a little bit of Javier Marías; something about levity, a keen eye for social psychology. The book is hardly laugh-out-loud funny but I was smiling throughout: the tone of Beatriz’s observations to herself is delightful. A quick read but Coetzee's prose is great and I'm likely to revisit his work soon.

My first Coetzee and certainly not my last. Every word of this novel is carefully chosen and well placed. This captured humanity in such a simple and beautiful way. Every word is a gift to the reader.

Published in Argentina in 2022; published in translation by W.W. Norton & Co./Liveright on September 19, 2023

The Pole is in his seventies but still vigorous, a concert pianist known for his unusual interpretation of Chopin, an interpretation that is arguably more authentic than the “hard, percussive” Chopin that has become fashionable. He is invited to perform in Barcelona by a Concert Circle that caters to a wealthy, aging audience with conservative tastes. The Circle refers to him as “the Pole” because Witold Walczykiewicz has “too many w’s and z’s.”

Beatriz and Margarita are members of the Concert Circle’s board. Beatriz is intelligent but not reflective because an “excess of reflection can paralyze the will.” She defers to Margarita’s desire to invite the Pole because Margarita knows more about music and has glowing things to say about him. Beatriz and Margarita are both society wives and not taken seriously, so they do the good works that society wives are expected to perform as their husbands go about their business. Margarita enjoys having affairs; Beatriz considers them but can’t be bothered.

Beatriz is pressed into service to entertain the Pole when Margarita, the more natural choice for that task, falls ill. Beatriz is concerned because, unlike Margarita, she is not the type to flirt and flatter. Beatrix is more than twenty years younger than the Pole and expects that they will have nothing in common. His presence does not change her expectation. She does not enjoy his interpretation of Chopin. He cannot answer her question about his performance in a way that satisfies her. She does not like his dentures: “too gleaming, too white, too fake.” They have an uncomfortable dinner with a couple from the Circle and Beatriz expects never to see him again.

Weeks later, the Pole comes to Spain to give piano lessons and asks to see Beatriz again. He admits that he has come to Spain for her, but she does not know what that means. She tells him she isn’t going to sleep with him. She thinks he speaks nonsense when he says she gives him peace and joy. She wonders if he wants a caregiver to help him in his declining years.

Beatriz does not know why the Pole wants her but feels vaguely insulted that he does. Perhaps he knows he would not have a chance with a more vivacious woman but regards her as attainable. Anyway, she is married. Yes, her husband has affairs, but that’s the way men are. She is busy with her social life and has no time for the Pole. She is not the answer to the riddle of his existence, even if he believes that to be the case. And yet.

The Pole invites Beatriz to take a vacation with him in Brazil. Beatriz refuses. He sends her private recordings of Chopin, claiming he is playing just for her. She cannot hear a personal message in the recordings. Still, she can’t get the Pole out of her mind. Perhaps she is discontented. “Discontent is not uncommon. Discontent: not knowing what one wants.”

Yet Beatriz is frustrated because she does not know why the Pole wants her. Why her? The question haunts her. She does not understand why he would love her without expecting to be loved in return. Her conversations with the Pole return platitudes about destiny, not answers. Their conversations are like “coins passed back and forth in the dark, in ignorance of what they are worth.” Perhaps there are simply no words to answer: “Why me?”

The Pole is the story of a woman who persistently says no as she inches toward yes, never acknowledging to herself that yes is even a possibility. She delights in the Pole’s admiration, his “dazzlement, as though he cannot believe his luck.” He makes her feel wanted. He is happy to take what she gives him, and that joy makes her want to give more and more. Yet she always wants more than the Pole can give. She is disappointed that he does not woo her or try to seduce her. He cannot give her a younger body than his tired old physical frame. He cannot play music that speaks to her. He cannot write love poems that transfigure her body into soul.

Why is the Pole never enough? Why does Beatriz want him to be more than he is? These are questions J.M. Coetzee leaves for the reader to decide. The right kind of book club might enjoy exploring the answers.

By the last half of the novel, the Pole is merely a puzzling memory in Beatriz’ life — apart from poems that he wanted her to have, poems that often refer to Dante and his girlfriend Beatrice. What do the poems mean? Are the poems vengeful, written to turn her into “a plaster saint”? What meaning should she attach to his description of the rose left between Beatrice’s legs? Does meaning matter? Is it enough that the poems cause a burning between Beatriz’s legs?

There is plenty for readers to unpack in Coetzee’s novels. This one is no exception. The story is told in a minimalist style that makes each sentence seem important. Beatriz and the Pole are the only characters of significance. While the Pole sees parallels between his relationship with Beatriz and Dante’s with Beatrice, Coetzee flips the story by focusing not on the man’s perspective but the woman’s. Beatriz often tells the Pole that his attention is unwanted, yet she encourages his interest, then discourages it, then feels guilty for doing both.

It is difficult for the reader to explore the depths of Beatriz’s heart, if only because it is difficult for Beatriz to do so. Perhaps that is the novel’s point. The Pole is a straightforward man, even if he cannot communicate with Beatriz in the way she believes an artist should. Beatriz’s confusion may reflect the tug-of-war between the heart and mind in matters of romance. The Pole knows what he wants even if he can’t express it. Beatriz seems to know what she wants but refuses to listen to her heart because her mind is busy cataloging the Pole’s faults.

How the conflict between heart and mind should resolve is a profound question that most people address at some point. The Pole illustrates the conflict by stripping it to its essence, again leaving it to the reader to arrive at an answer.

RECOMMENDED

THE POLE by by J.M. Coetzee ~to be published September 19, 2023

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5. This is so playfully written and yet still manages to have me thinking deeply about weighty and rather unsettling topics – my sweet spot!

I requested the e-galley of this short novel based on the author alone, without having any description. I love Coetzee that much. And I really loved this, which tells me that I must explore Coetzee’s entire body of work!

We are introduced to Beatriz, a not entirely fulfilled banker’s wife in her forties, who is on the board of her local Concert Circle in Barcelona. Due to her friend’s last minute illness, Beatriz agrees to entertain a visiting pianist, Wittold Walccyzkiecz, referred to simply as “The Pole” because his name is so difficult to pronounce.

The Pole is playfully described as being a “vigorous” seventy years old and having “extravagantly” white hair, and resembling real life Swedish actor Max von Sydow (slide 2). I actually think he looks a bit like Coetzee (slide 3), so perhaps there is an element of autofiction at play here as well?

After just a short time together, Wittold falls desperately in love with Beatriz, not unlike how the poet Dante Alighieri fell for his muse Beatrice, and it is up to our Beatriz, who does not share the Pole’s intensity nor his native language, to decide whether or not to indulge his obsession with her.

“The Pole” can mean a Polish gentleman, but it can also mean one of two extremes, as in the north and south poles, or positive and negative electric or magnetic poles, opposites that are drawn to each other. Coetzee is playing with all of these meanings, as well as exploring the concepts of love, desire, power, and connection, and how all of these may get lost in translation. Ultimately, I think Coetzee is exploring the idea that we can never really know another person, and that often there is a disconnect between what we believe ourselves to be and how we are perceived by others.

This reminded me of James Joyce at his best and is one I would love to reread. Sincere thanks to @w.w.norton for the ARC, this is out today, September 19th!

So simple, so complicated, so breathtakingly beautiful. I'm in awe of the humanity Coetzee conjured with these words.