South African Literature - Dangor

[Thankless]

Has anyone heard of Achmat Dangor, a South African writer, and read his Bitter Fruit?
Do you think he ranks with Coetzee and Gordimer?
I'm currently reading it (Bitter Fruit) and I simply find it an example of bad literature, although that, then, begs the question, what standards one uses to pass value judgments on writing, and I am, consequently, made aware of my own inadequacy, which makes me angry. I know the novel is bad, but I cannot say in objective terms, why. Has anyone else had a similar experience? What did you do?

[Calidore]

Writing is art, and responses to art tend to be gut, with intellectualizing coming later, if ever. Myself, if something doesn't work for me, I remember the author and read something else.