Coetzee

Coetzee, J. M. (John Maxwell Coetzee), 1940-, South African novelist, b. John Michael Coetzee. Educated at the Univ. of Cape Town (M.A. 1963) and the Univ. of Texas (Ph.D. 1969), he taught in the United States and returned home (1983) to become a professor of English literature at Cape Town. He immigrated to Australia in 2002, becoming a citizen there in 2006, and working as a research fellow at the Univ. of Adelaide. Several of Coetzee's novels are noted for their eloquent protest against political and social conditions in South Africa, particularly the suffering caused by imperialism, apartheid, and postapartheid violence. His books are also known for their technical virtuosity. Often melancholy and detached in tone and spare in style, his fiction treats themes of human violence and loss, weakness and defeat, and isolation and survival. His critically acclaimed novels include In the Heart of the Country (1977), Waiting for the Barbarians (1982), the two Booker (later Man Booker) Prize-winning novels, The Life and Times of Michael K (1983) and Disgrace (1999), The Master of Petersburg (1994), Elizabeth Costello (2003), Slow Man (2005), and Diary of a Bad Year (2007). The last three novels, written after his move to Australia, have had Australian settings and have shown a more pronounced philosophical orientation. Among Coetzee's other writings are the memoirs Boyhood (1997) and Youth (2002) and several essay collections, among them Inner Workings (2007), studies of 20 20th-century writers. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003.

(born Feb. 9, 1940, Cape Town, S.Af.) South African novelist. Coetzee taught English at the University of Cape Town, translated works from the Dutch, and wrote literary criticism before publishing his first book, Dusklands (1974). He won international fame with In the Heart of the Country (1977) and Waiting for the Barbarians (1980), in which he attacked the legacy of colonialism; they were followed by The Life and Times of Michael K (1983, Booker Prize), which concerns a man of limited intelligence caught in a civil war; Foe (1986), a twist on Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe; the autobiographical Boyhood (1997); and others. Among his nonfiction works are Giving Offense: Essays on Censorship (1996) and The Lives of Animals (1999). In 1999 he became the first writer to win the Booker Prize twice when he received the award for his novel Disgrace (1999). In 2003 Coetzee won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

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(born Feb. 9, 1940, Cape Town, S.Af.) South African novelist. Coetzee taught English at the University of Cape Town, translated works from the Dutch, and wrote literary criticism before publishing his first book, Dusklands (1974). He won international fame with In the Heart of the Country (1977) and Waiting for the Barbarians (1980), in which he attacked the legacy of colonialism; they were followed by The Life and Times of Michael K (1983, Booker Prize), which concerns a man of limited intelligence caught in a civil war; Foe (1986), a twist on Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe; the autobiographical Boyhood (1997); and others. Among his nonfiction works are Giving Offense: Essays on Censorship (1996) and The Lives of Animals (1999). In 1999 he became the first writer to win the Booker Prize twice when he received the award for his novel Disgrace (1999). In 2003 Coetzee won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Learn more about Coetzee, J(ohn) M(ichael) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

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