Infinite Books

“The Pole” is the second book by J.M. Coetzee I read, “Disgrace” being the first one, remaining one of my favorite novels of all time. This time, the author tells the story of love between 70-year-old Polish virtuoso pianist Witold and a 50-year-old woman, Beatriz.

Beatriz is a patron of arts, living in Barcelona, and after attending Witold’s concert, she performs her duty of entertaining the artist with dinner and conversation. She is not impressed with Witold’s interpretation of Chopin, which she finds emotionless. Still, she is too polite to mention to him that her favorite pianist is Claudio Arrau – and not, by any means, Witold Walczykiewicz. The conversation could be smoother, too: they communicate in English, and it seems to Beatriz that Witold expresses his thoughts incorrectly. She is a beautiful woman, still turning men’s heads in a restaurant; she is also practical and married. Conversely, Witold is a romantic, perhaps just an older divorced man looking for true love. He finds it in Beatriz.

He is an artist, but while bringing classical love parallels of Beatrice and Dante, later, when they spend a week in Mallorca, just like George Sand and Chopin, Witold can’t make Beatriz fall in love. With all her calmness and reasoning, she is flattered but doesn’t want to change her life. Eventually, Witold realizes he can only dream about Beatriz and maybe, like Dante, write poems about her. His poems are written in Polish, a language Beatriz doesn’t speak. And he only has a little time left.

“The Pole” was first published in Spanish, as Coetzee probably intended to say that English, though considered a global language, may not be the universal language. Love is not the universal language either. We express our feelings using language, but even hearing what one says, another person may never comprehend the meaning. In a way, “The Pole” is a novel about the inadequacy of language. There is a language barrier that stops Beatriz and Witold’s relations from progressing into love. However, there is also “a feeling barrier,” which is even harder to overcome. The music does not make their dialog easier, either. They both see something different in Chopin’s music because the language of music speaks differently to each of them. As Witold says, “You do not understand because I do not explain well in English, not in any language, even in Polish. To understand you must be silent and listen. Let the music speak, then you will understand.”

The short, austere paragraphs are brief pictures of longing, never fully expressed, yet always present. They are like photos from an album that a reader can leaf through; words are not enough, music is fleeting, and yet, there is hope in loneliness. It’s a beautiful novel.

THE POLE by J.M. Coetzee, published by W. W. Norton, 2023