An insightful literary biography of the Nobel Laureate J. M.
Coetzee's, illuminating the creation of his extraordinary novels
J. M. Coetzee is one of the most renowned yet elusive authors of our
time. Now, in J.M. Coetzee and the Life of Writing, David Attwell
explores the extraordinary creative process behind Coetzee's work, from
Dusklands to The Childhood of Jesus. Drawing on Coetzee's
manuscripts, notebooks and research papers housed at the Harry Ransom
Center at the University of Texas at Austin, Attwell reveals the
fascinating ways in which Coetzee's famous novels developed, sometimes
through more than fifteen drafts. He convincingly shows that Coetzee's
work is strongly autobiographical, and that his writing proceeds with
never-ending self-reflection while it moves toward aesthetic detachment.
Above all, Attwell argues, South Africa, with its history, language,
landscape and conflicts, is much more present in his novels than we have
realized.
Having worked closely with Coetzee on Doubling the Point, a collection
of essays and interviews, Attwell is an engaging, authoritative source.
J.M. Coetzee and The Life of Writing is the first book-length study to
make use of Coetzee's extensive archive. A fresh, engaging and moving
take on one of the world's foremost literary figures, it is bound to
change the way Coetzee is read.
