Youth is a coming-of-age story about a lonely and frustrated young man who tries to escape from his family and country of birth. He wants to make a new life for himself by following his dream of becoming a highly respected poet, to live the glorified life of an artist in Europe. Coetzee's well-crafted novel carried me into the young man's heart and mind and I both sympathized with and was aggravated at times with the protagonist's decisions, thoughts, and actions. This was an intriguing page-turner.

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