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The Pole

por J. M. Coetzee

MiembrosReseñasPopularidadValoración promediaMenciones
1098248,212 (3.72)7
"Exacting yet unpredictable, pithy yet complex, Coetzee's The Pole tells the story of Wittold Walccyzkiecz, a vigorous, extravagantly white-haired pianist and interpreter of Chopin who becomes infatuated with Beatriz, a stylish patron of the arts, after she helps organize his concert in Barcelona. Although Beatriz, a married woman, is initially unimpressed by Wittold and his "gleaming dentures," she soon finds herself pursued and ineluctably swept into his world. As the journeyman performer 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 power struggle between them intensifies, eventually escalating into a full-fledged battle of the sexes. But is it Beatriz who limits their passion by paralyzing her emotions? Or is it Wittold, the old man at his typewriter, trying to force into life his dream of love? Reinventing the all-encompassing love of the poet Dante for his Beatrice, Coetzee exposes the fundamentally enigmatic nature of romance, showing how a chance meeting between strangers--even "a Pole, a man of seventy, a vigorous seventy," and a stultified "banker's wife who occupies her days in good works"--can suddenly change everything"--… (más)
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As usual with Coetzee, a book that seems to have more to it than appears on the surface. Beatriz, a middle-aged bourgeois lady who’s active in cultural activities in Barcelona, is asked to entertain the distinguished Polish pianist Witold after a concert. Their encounter is mildly interesting for her, but seems to have been life-changing for the elderly musician. He pursues her, she has a brief fling with him against her better judgment (on Mallorca, as is traditional with Polish pianists), and then she forgets the whole thing until she hears of his death, many years later. When things start to get complicated again.

Naturally, as well as the obvious story about the asymmetry of love in the real world, and the lost-in-translation thing about people who communicate in different languages and different media, there is a Chopin story going on here, and lots of Dante allusions, not to mention Orpheus and Cupid-and-Psyche. And all kinds of other deep stuff. Presumably the reason Coetzee writes short books is that he expects you to read them at least three times before you can pin him down… ( )
  thorold | Jan 2, 2024 |
Coetzee gives us a tango between Witold, an aging artist, and Beatriz, a middle-aged woman in a loveless marriage. Though the writing is spare, it carries a lot of weight. In this novel of ideas, Coetzee’s themes range broadly. They include love, commitment, family, art, literature, aging, loneliness, language, longing, delusion, sex, etc., etc. Most of these ideas Coetzee approaches obliquely, leaving much unsaid.

Beatriz presents as the consummate realist, while Witold is the ultimate romantic. While I found Beatriz to be credible, Witold seemed to be too fanciful to be believed. She responds positively to his attentions but finds them lacking in subtlety and never responds coquettishly. Witold, on the other hand, seems to have fallen head-over-heels for her following a dinner that they had with an elderly couple, no less. I found the life-altering nature of this brief encounter to be pretty far-fetched and it spoiled a lot of what followed for me. ( )
  ozzer | Oct 30, 2023 |
The Pole is a 75 year old Polish concert pianist who travels to Spain for a concert where he meets Beatrice, a much younger woman who acts as host. The story is told from the viewpoint of Beatrice in short snippets. After the concert and their dinner, Beatrice receives an email from the Pole (with an unpronounceable name) that he wants to meet her again and implies his deep love for her. The story spans a few years of emails and a weekend spent together where he does find their bed. The narrator Beatrice has been married for some time, is worldly with no illusions about love.

The Pole finally dies and leaves Beatrice some unpublished poetry written in Polish. Strange book, but one that I admit I kept at just to see the outcome. I think there is probably some deep message about love and who deserves love and who returns it. ( )
  maryreinert | Oct 29, 2023 |
This is a beautiful and emotional story of the love between Wittold, a 70 year old Polish pianist and Beatrice, a 50 year old woman he meets by chance. Wittold falls in love with Beatrice despite the fact that she lives in Barcelona and he in Poland. Unfortunately, Beatrice’s feelings for Wittold are not as strong Wittold’s feeling for her. This is a love story, and a story of unrequited love.

The do eventually meet up alone for a week, a week in which Wittold will never forget. Shortly before his death, he writes a series of poems reflecting his love and admiration for Beatrice, which he leaves to her after his death. The poems are written in Polish, which Beatrice has to have translated.

The book is very short, about 166 pages and each chapter is broken down into extremely short segments. The entire book can be read in a single sitting, if desired. But the story is one you may never forget for the remainder of your life. I will be reading more of Coetzee’s works. ( )
  dwcofer | Oct 7, 2023 |
After the concert, Beatriz asked the Polish pianist why Chopin lives on. The Pole responds, because he tells us about ourselves, desires which are sometimes not clear to us, or for that which we cannot have. Beatriz doesn’t not understand. The Pole knows he hasn’t the English to make himself clear; listen to the music, he advices.

And at the end of the dinner, the hosts of the concert say good-bye to the pianist who thanks Beatriz for her profound questions. “I will not forget,” he tells her.

The lady forgets the pianist, returns to her life. She and her husband lead separate lives, in separate bedrooms; it is a good marriage based on respect and secrets. She didn’t like the Pole’s interpretation of Chopin, didn’t care for him, but did like how he took her seriously. No one takes her seriously.

Beatriz is shocked to hear from the Pole, who sends her CDs of his Chopin, then invites her to join him where he is teaching. Beatriz is perplexed. She does not trust him but they met again. He tells her that she is his Beatrice to his Dante, and he will love her all his life. She is confused, she is nothing like what he imagines, she feels nothing towards this man. He is over seventy, she is in her forties. She is content with her settled life. He offers his undying love. She does not know what she wants. Perhaps she pities him.

This is a strange love story, one-sided and hobbled by not having a common language, by his inability to convey passion to her cool solitude. After the Pole’s death, Beatriz still is not able to escape his devotion, their dialogue continues.

We understand Beatriz’s perspective, so that the Pole appears awkward and clumsy, the antithesis of a fervent lover. He cannot woe her with words, and even his poems to her are translated by a non-literary translator and lose their power. His Chopin interpretation had left her cold, for the music did not transport her, had no romanticism. He insists on his eternal love, which he can never fully express; even his aging body is against him.

A surprising, haunting, short novel.

Thanks to the publisher for a free book. ( )
  nancyadair | Jun 24, 2023 |
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"Exacting yet unpredictable, pithy yet complex, Coetzee's The Pole tells the story of Wittold Walccyzkiecz, a vigorous, extravagantly white-haired pianist and interpreter of Chopin who becomes infatuated with Beatriz, a stylish patron of the arts, after she helps organize his concert in Barcelona. Although Beatriz, a married woman, is initially unimpressed by Wittold and his "gleaming dentures," she soon finds herself pursued and ineluctably swept into his world. As the journeyman performer 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 power struggle between them intensifies, eventually escalating into a full-fledged battle of the sexes. But is it Beatriz who limits their passion by paralyzing her emotions? Or is it Wittold, the old man at his typewriter, trying to force into life his dream of love? Reinventing the all-encompassing love of the poet Dante for his Beatrice, Coetzee exposes the fundamentally enigmatic nature of romance, showing how a chance meeting between strangers--even "a Pole, a man of seventy, a vigorous seventy," and a stultified "banker's wife who occupies her days in good works"--can suddenly change everything"--

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