--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A Favorite start to a book [sorry it's…" description: "\"“A Favorite start to a book [sorry it's long!]: \"In yesterday’s Sunday Times, a report from Francistown in Botswana. Sometime last week, in the middle ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/coetzee-101575_books_a-favorite-start-to-a-book-sorry-it-s-lo_2669685.jpg" --- # A Favorite start to a book \[sorry it's long!\]: "In… ![“A Favorite start to a book [sorry it's long!]: "In yesterday’s Sunday Times, a report from Francistown in Botswana. Sometime last week, in the middle of the night, a car, a white American model, drove up to a house in a residential area. Men wearing balaclavas jumped out, kicked down the front…” quote by Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/coetzee-101575_books_a-favorite-start-to-a-book-sorry-it-s-lo_2669685.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/coetzee-101575_books_a-favorite-start-to-a-book-sorry-it-s-lo_2669685.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/coetzee-101575_books_a-favorite-start-to-a-book-sorry-it-s-lo_2669685.jpg) > ““A Favorite start to a book \[sorry it's long!\]: "In yesterday’s Sunday Times, a report from Francistown in Botswana. Sometime last week, in the middle of the night, a car, a white American model, drove up to a house in a residential area. Men wearing balaclavas jumped out, kicked down the front door, and began shooting. When they had done with shooting they set fire to the house and drove off. From the embers the neighbors dragged seven charred bodies: two men, three women, two children. Th killers appeared to be black, but one of the neighbors heard them speaking Afrikaans among themselves. And was convinced they were whites in blackface. The dead were South Africans, refugees who had moved into the house mere weeks ago. Approached for comment, the SA Minister of Foreign Affairs, through a spokesman, calls the report ‘unverified’. Inquiries will be undertaken, he says, to determine whether the deceased were indeed SA citizens. As for the military, an unnamed source denies that the SA Defence Force had anything to do with the matter. The killings are probably an internal ANC matter, he suggests, reflecting ‘ongoing tensions between factions. So they come out, week after week, these tales from the borderlands, murders followed by bland denials. He reads the reports and feels soiled. So this is what he has come back to! Yet where in the world can one hide where one will not feel soiled? Would he feel any cleaner in the snows of Sweden, reading at a distance about his people and their latest pranks? How to escape the filth: not a new question. An old rat-question that will not let go, that leaves its nasty, suppurating wound. Agenbite of inwit. ‘I see the Defense Force is up to its old tricks again,’ he remarks to his father. ‘In Botswana this time.’ But his father is too wary to rise to the bait. When his father picks up the newspaper, he cares to skip straight to the sports pages, missing out the politics—the politics and the killings. His father has nothing but disdain for the continent to the north of them. Buffoons is the word he uses to dismiss the leaders of African states: petty tyrants who can barely spell their own names, chauffeured from one banquet to another in their Rolls-Royces, wearing Ruritanian uniforms festooned with medals they have awarded themselves. Africa: a place of starving masses with homicidal buffoons lording over them. ‘They broke into a house in Francistown and killed everyone,’ he presses on nonetheless. ‘Executed them .Including the children. Look. Read the report. It’s on the front page.’ His father shrugs. His father can find no form of words spacious enough to cover his distaste for, on one hand, thugs who slaughter defenceless women and children and, on the other, terrorists who wage war from havens across the border. He resolves the problem by immersing himself in the cricket scores. As a response to moral dilemma it is feeble; yet is his own response—fits of anger and despair—any better?" Summertime, Coetzee”” [Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coetzee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Witnessing brutal violence forces one to confront moral ambiguity and the desire to escape guilt. **In simple terms:** Violence confronts us with moral dilemmas. Key Takeaway Seek truth and confront uncomfortable realities. Themes violence morality guilt Mood somber thoughtful Type Books:1 Foreign affairs:1 Front door:0 Middle of the night:0 Moral dilemma:1 Parenting:0 Summertime:0 South African:1 Killings:1 Killings Probably:0 Began Shooting:0 Politics Killings:0 Killings Father:0 When to use this quote - war reporting - ethical debate - personal conscience Key Concepts journalism politics Questions to Reflect On - How do you process disturbing news? - What responsibilities do observers have? A Different Perspective Denial can protect mental health but hinders accountability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Began Shooting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/began-shooting-2493605/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Foreign affairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foreign-affairs/) [Front door](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/front-door/) [Killings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killings-344739/) [Killings Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killings-father-2493607/) [Killings Probably](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killings-probably-2493604/) [Middle of the night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-of-the-night/) [Moral dilemma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-dilemma/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Politics Killings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics-killings-2493606/) [South African](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/south-african/) [Summertime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summertime/) ## Related quotes > [Pure, hard-core liberals believe in a superior race. 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When they had done with shooting they set fire to the house and drove off. From the embers the neighbors dragged seven charred bodies: two men, three women, two children. Th killers appeared to be black, but one of the neighbors heard them speaking Afrikaans among themselves. And was convinced they were whites in blackface. The dead were South Africans, refugees who had moved into the house mere weeks ago. Approached for comment, the SA Minister of Foreign Affairs, through a spokesman, calls the report ‘unverified’. Inquiries will be undertaken, he says, to determine whether the deceased were indeed SA citizens. As for the military, an unnamed source denies that the SA Defence Force had anything to do with the matter. The killings are probably an internal ANC matter, he suggests, reflecting ‘ongoing tensions between factions. So they come out, week after week, these tales from the borderlands, murders followed by bland denials. He reads the reports and feels soiled. So this is what he has come back to! Yet where in the world can one hide where one will not feel soiled? Would he feel any cleaner in the snows of Sweden, reading at a distance about his people and their latest pranks? How to escape the filth: not a new question. An old rat-question that will not let go, that leaves its nasty, suppurating wound. Agenbite of inwit. ‘I see the Defense Force is up to its old tricks again,’ he remarks to his father. ‘In Botswana this time.’ But his father is too wary to rise to the bait. When his father picks up the newspaper, he cares to skip straight to the sports pages, missing out the politics—the politics and the killings. His father has nothing but disdain for the continent to the north of them. Buffoons is the word he uses to dismiss the leaders of African states: petty tyrants who can barely spell their own names, chauffeured from one banquet to another in their Rolls-Royces, wearing Ruritanian uniforms festooned with medals they have awarded themselves. Africa: a place of starving masses with homicidal buffoons lording over them. ‘They broke into a house in Francistown and killed everyone,’ he presses on nonetheless. ‘Executed them .Including the children. Look. Read the report. It’s on the front page.’ His father shrugs. His father can find no form of words spacious enough to cover his distaste for, on one hand, thugs who slaughter defenceless women and children and, on the other, terrorists who wage war from havens across the border. He resolves the problem by immersing himself in the cricket scores. As a response to moral dilemma it is feeble; yet is his own response—fits of anger and despair—any better?\" Summertime, Coetzee”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Coetzee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coetzee/a-favorite-start-to-a-book-sorry-it-s-long-in-yesterday-s-sunday/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coetzee/a-favorite-start-to-a-book-sorry-it-s-long-in-yesterday-s-sunday/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/coetzee-101575_books_a-favorite-start-to-a-book-sorry-it-s-lo_2669685.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/coetzee-101575_books_a-favorite-start-to-a-book-sorry-it-s-lo_2669685.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c66/coetzee-101575_books_a-favorite-start-to-a-book-sorry-it-s-lo_2669685.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A Favorite start to a book [sorry it's long!]: \"In yesterday’s Sunday Times, a report from Francistown in…” — Coetzee", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Coetzee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coetzee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“A Favorite start to a book...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coetzee/a-favorite-start-to-a-book-sorry-it-s-long-in-yesterday-s-sunday/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coetzee/a-favorite-start-to-a-book-sorry-it-s-long-in-yesterday-s-sunday/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```