J.M. Coetzee and the Art of Change. Life and Times of Michael K in an Anthropotechnical Perspective

The article is an attempt to interpret Life and Times of Michael K as a work focused on building a conversion situation. Conversion is understood here, according to the theory by Rob Wilson, as the secularized equivalent of metanoia. The basic theoretical context is the thought of Peter Sloterdijk, who redefines religion as a spiritual exercise system and presents modernity as the domain of alternative systems of vertical tension. From this perspective, the novel by J.M. Coetzee offers a spiritual exercise for the epoch of “despiritualization of asceticism.” The protagonist’s repeated escapes and his voluntary hunger strike (juxtaposed with a similar theme in Franz Kafka’s short story) elude simple interpretations. The writer experiment with narrative strategies aimed at building a meta-allegory and ironic inversion of interpretive clichés, forcing the reader to face the imperative of a complete change of life.

The article is an attempt to interpret Life and Times of Michael K as a work focused on building a conversion situation. Conversion is understood here, according to the theory by Rob Wilson, as the secularized equivalent of metanoia. The basic theoretical context is the thought of Peter Sloterdijk, who redefines religion as a spiritual exercise system and presents modernity as the domain of alternative systems of vertical tension. From this perspective, the novel by J.M. Coetzee offers a spiritual exercise for the epoch of “despiritualization of asceticism.” The protagonist’s repeated escapes and his voluntary hunger strike (juxtaposed with a similar theme in Franz Kafka’s short story) elude simple interpretations. The writer experiment with narrative strategies aimed at building a meta-allegory and ironic inversion of interpretive clichés, forcing the reader to face the imperative of a complete change of life.