Michael K?

 

A while back I tried to read "The Life and Times of Michael K" by J.M. Coetzee a South African author.  Try as I might, I couldn't get past the first chapter because I found it just too depressing, and at first didn't know why.  After some thought I realised the reason is that it is all too real. When you read a book like that, then take a ride and see it in action, it can really get to you.

There are many people who go around collecting scrap metal which they convert to cash.  I have great admiration for them, because they continue to do an honest day's work, at a time when so many others are finding the slightest excuse to turn to crime.