books by J. M. Coetzee     books:       Diary of a Bad Year19 reviews J M Coetzee Vintage Books, 2008 4.5 out of 5: Interesting structure, impeccable execution This "novel" unfolds in three parallel tracks: a series of "strong opinions" written for an anthology by an aging South African writer living in Australia (Senor C); Senor C's internal thoughts, particularly regarding his young, sensuous typist, Anya; and Anya's internal thoughts. All three tracks share the page, but the structure remains easy to follow. Senor C's strong opinions are interesting ...             Elizabeth Costello51 reviews J. M. Coetzee Viking, 2003 Coetzee's Costello The 2003 Nobel Prize did not mean resting on one's own laurels for novelist J.M. Coetzee, author of Foe, Waiting for the Barbarians and the formidable Disgrace among others. Since the Nobel he has already published another novel, Slow Man (Viking, 2005). Coetzee's latest novel, however, calls for a reading of his previous novel, Elizabeth Costello (Secker and Warburg, 2003) that for many reasons, ...             Life and Times of Michael K: 246 reviews J. M. Coetzee Viking Adult, 1984 A tale at once subsumed by race and yet never mentioning it Literary historians credit much of Ireland's rich literary tradition to its often tragic history. No surprise then that the nation of South Africa, likewise so rich in grief that it might as well diamonds, has produced so many extraordinary writers, two of whom, Coetzee included, who can boast a Nobel Prize. Which brings us to one of his many fine novels, the Life and Times of Michael K. ...             Diary of a Bad Year19 reviews J.M. Coetzee Imprint unknown, 2008 4.5 out of 5: Interesting structure, impeccable execution This "novel" unfolds in three parallel tracks: a series of "strong opinions" written for an anthology by an aging South African writer living in Australia (Senor C); Senor C's internal thoughts, particularly regarding his young, sensuous typist, Anya; and Anya's internal thoughts. All three tracks share the page, but the structure remains easy to follow. Senor C's strong opinions are interesting ...             Waiting for the Barbarians: A Novel76 reviews J.M. Coetzee Penguin (Non-Classics), 1982 Timeless and Timely The Nobel Prize committee has a history of honoring writers with a strong political or social message. WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS (1980), Coetzee's short, approachable, but devastating fable about the abuse of power, must have played a major part in their decision to award him the prize in 2003. While all his books deal with moral issues, and many (such as DISGRACE of 1999) reflect his experience ...             Age of Iron15 reviews J. M. Coetzee Penguin (Non-Classics), 1998 A taut and gripping book In this novel first published in 1990, Mr Coetzee gives the grim account of both a human being facing imminent death and a country - South Africa - still immersed in the tragedy of the apartheid regime. Mrs Curren, a professor of classics in Cape Town, has just received the fatal news from her doctor, Dr Syfert, that she suffers from an incurable form of cancer. Part of the narrative consists in ...             Slow Man42 reviews J.M. Coetzee Vintage Books, 2006 Getting rid of Ms. Costello What it puzzles me is that the professional reviewers - like the links from http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/coetzeej/slowman.htm - did not get the essence of the book. They just tell the plot, when there is no plot. They are upset - everyone is upset - by the artificial introduction in the book of Elisabeth Costello, a character from another book. But who can get the essence of "Slow Man"? ...             Disgrace: A Novel338 reviews J. M. Coetzee Penguin (Non-Classics), 2008 Why J.M. Coetzee emigrated from South Africa Disgrace is not about a rape. It is not about an University professor having affairs with students. The fact that he is 50sh, the fact that he has a daughter running a kennel in the countryside are not relevant. The book is about the condition of living as a white in South Africa today. The rape is not an ordinary rape, it is a bloody premeditated vengeance on an innocent victim who must leave ...             White Writing: One the Culture and Letters in South Africa J.M. Coetzee Pentz Publishers, 2008 Since it first appeared in 1988, JM Coetzee s first volume of criticism, White Writing, has emerged as an indispensable reference in the study of South African literature. In the seven essays comprising the collection, he reads a range of texts, in various genres, which represent the endeavours of white writers to come to terms with the South African landscape and their tenuous place within it. Their projects, Coetzee argues, are vexed by the ...             Foe (Methuen Modern Plays)23 reviews J. M. Coetzee Methuen Publishing Ltd, 1996 Not Difficult, but Inscrutible In Daniel Defoe's classic novel "Robinson Crusoe," the island is a boys' playhouse with no girls allowed. Solitude is a relentless adventure. And the servant Friday is a slaveholder's pipe dream, a black man with no past who becomes European thanks to the civilizing influence of the white title character. J.M. Coetzee dares to ask: what if all of that is wrong? This book is divided into ...             Boyhood: Scenes From Provincial Life14 reviews J. M. Coetzee Penguin (Non-Classics), 1998 Twice-born In this youth memories, J.M. Coetzee defines himself as `twice-born: `born from woman and born from the farm'. He is, first of all, a mother's son (`he clings to her as his only protector'), but `the farm is his secret fate'. Growing up in a rude and unsocialized family with eccentric characters, with a father who becomes an alcoholic and a mother, for whom `studying is just nonsense' and ...             The Master of Petersburg16 reviews J. M. Coetzee Vintage, 1999 Following the dance of the pen In J. M. Coetzee's "The Master of Petersburg" when the main character is asked what kind of books he writes, he doesn't know what to respond. Page later, thinking about it he concludes he could have said he `write[s] perversions of the truth. [He chooses] the crooked road and take[s] the children into dark places. [He] follow[s] the dance of the pen'. In novel "The Master of Petersburg" South ...             The Poems, Short Fiction, and Criticism of Samuel Beckett: Volume IV of The Grove Centenary Editions7 reviews Samuel Beckett Grove Press, 2006 Great, Beautiful, Incomplete This is a great collection of Beckett's novels, including: Murphy, Watt, and Mercier and Camier. Noticeably missing--and noted by Paul Auster in the editor's note--is Dream of Fair to Middling Women, published post-humously. This probably points to a rights issue with the Beckett estate, but that's conjecture. Auster notes that Beckett's "reputation rests" on the work included in this ...             The Lives of Animals (The University Center for Human Values Series)16 reviews J. M. Coetzee Princeton University Press, 2001 Creative Context for Animal Rights Review This small book provides a wonderfully insightful perspective on the issues surrounding compassion and respect for animals. It reviews some of the main arguments, but in the context of two lectures given by an aging academician. Adding to the substance of her lectures is the curious passive nature of her son's response, who seems to miss the point, while mainly experiencing a sense of ...             Youth: Scenes from Provincial Life II23 reviews J. M. Coetzee Penguin (Non-Classics), 2003 Haunting This is a haunting book for me. Like the protagonist, I also studied mathematics with an interest in philosophy and literature. Like him, I happen to be working as a computer programmer and I just turned 26 years old, making me about the same age as the protagonist is at the end of the book. Finally, I too come from a former colony, Canada, and often feel that I am far from the centre of ...             The Confusions of Young Torless (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)13 reviews Robert Musil Penguin Classics, 2001 intellectual exploration of latent sadomasochism I first read this book over 10 years ago, when I came across it by chance (bookshop browsing). Since then I have read it every few years and am impressed every time. This book is about as high-brow as it gets, but it is not pretentious or gratuitously intellectual. Rather, it is an authentic analysis of a sadomasochistic mind-set, mysticism, and the sense of not-belongingness/social alienation. ...             Disgrace J. M. Coetzee Penguin Audio, 2008 Unabridged CDs ? 6 CDs, 7 hours             In the Heart of the Country: A Novel9 reviews J. M. Coetzee Penguin (Non-Classics), 1982 The stifling torpor of colonial South Africa Magda is a lonely and embittered spinster who lives on a sheep farm in the heart of South Africa. Her mother died in childbirth, the cause of which Magda attributes to her father's "relentless sexual demands". Her bitterness comes from the fact that she feels that she has been an absence all her life to her father. They have always fronted each other in silence and so Magda became an unhappy ...             Inner Workings: Literary Essays 2000-20054 reviews J. M. Coetzee Viking Adult, 2007 Magisterial This bundle of essays contains superb reviews of important authors and (part of) their work. Hereafter, a brief summary of Coetzee's comments and evaluations, with a few remarks. Italo Svevo considered himself as a peer, a fellow researcher of Freud into the grip of the unconscious on conscious life. Robert Musil (Young Törless) was skeptical of the power of reason to guide human conduct. ...             Robinson Crusoe (Oxford World's Classics)103 reviews Daniel Defoe Oxford University Press, USA, 1999 The Best of the Robinson Crusoe readings. Everyone knows the story...so the issue is who can read the literature in a compelling way. Clearly, Martin Shaw has the touch. My only criticism is that this audio Cassette should be made into an audio CD for most modern listeners.              search for books 2000-2005, animals, barbarians, beckett, centenary, century, classics, confusions, costello, country, criticism, culture, disgrace, editions, elizabeth, fiction, literary, methuen, michael, penguin, petersburg, provincial, robinson, torless, twentieth, twentieth-century, university, waiting, workings, writing books:    Kindle - Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device This is the future of book reading. 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