topics: |  fiction | south-africa | nobel-2003 | booker-1999

Although he devoted hours of each day to his new discipline, he finds its
first premise, as enunciated in the Communications 101 handbook,
preposterous: 'Human society has created language in order that we may
communicate our thoughts, feelings, and intentions to each other.' His own
opinion, which he does not air, is that the origins of speech lie in song,
and the origins of song in the need to fill out with sound the overlarge and
rather empty human soul. (p.3-4)

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Isaacs has a cheap Bic pen in his hand. He runs his fingers down the
shaft, inverts it, runs his fingers down the shaft, over and over, in
a motion that is mechanical rather than impatient.

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blurb:
A divorced, middle-aged English professor finds himself increasingly unable
to resist affairs with his female students. When discovered by the college
authorities he is expected to apologize to save his job, but instead he
refuses and resigns, retiring to live with his daughter on her remote farm.