Sir Salman faced competition from Pat Barker 's The Ghost Road ( 1995 ) , a First World War story ; Peter Carey 's Oscar and Lucinda ( 1988 ) , set in 19th-century Australia ; Coetzee 's Disgrace ( 1999 ) , about a professor who seduces a student ; Gordimer 's The Conservationist ( 1974 ) , which describes a white man 's exploitation of his black employees ; and J.G Farrell 's The Siege of Krishnapur ( 1973 ) , a story set in 1850s India .