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  • Published: 1 May 2014
  • ISBN: 9780099584223
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $35.00

Here and Now

Letters



A collection of letters between two of the greatest writers of our time, J.M. Coetzee and Paul Auster.

Although Paul Auster and J.M. Coetzee had been reading each other's books for years, the two writers did not meet until February 2008. Not long after, Auster received a letter from Coetzee, suggesting they begin exchanging letters on a regular basis and, 'God willing, strike sparks off each other.'

Here and Now is the result of that proposal: an epistolary dialogue between two great writers who became great friends. Over three years their letters touched on nearly every subject, from sports to fatherhood, film festivals to incest, philosophy to politics, from the financial crisis to art, family, marriage, friendship, and love.

Their correspondence offers an intimate and often amusing portrait of these two men as they explore the complexities of the here and now and is a reflection of two sharp intellects whose pleasure in each other's friendship is apparent on every page.

  • Published: 1 May 2014
  • ISBN: 9780099584223
  • Imprint: Vintage
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 256
  • RRP: $35.00

About the author

J. M. Coetzee

J. M. Coetzee was the first author to win the Booker Prize twice and was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003. His work includes Waiting for the Barbarians, Life and Times of Michael K, The Master of Petersburg,Disgrace and Diary of a Bad Year. He lives in Adelaide.

Also by J. M. Coetzee

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Praise for Here and Now

Extraordinary book

Times Literary Supplement

Uniquely insightful, unfailingly interesting

Arifa Akbar, Independent

How gripping it is to watch these two thoughtful, articulate men grappling with a world that hasn't quite turned out how they expected

Olivia Laing, New Statesman

These pages are at their most compelling when the respective writers begin to dwell on the currency of their fiction

Tim Adams, Observer

You feel that Auster and Coetzee are addressing each other directly and honestly. Some of it is rather moving, and underpinning it all is genuine affection

Jon Day, Daily Telegraph

Witty and imaginative

Arifa Akbar, Independent

A friendship played out in letters... It's fun and strangely gripping

William Leith, Evening Standard

As engaging as you'd expect... This is an ideal book to keep by the bed and dip into from time to time

Kate Beswick, Me and My Big Mouth

In an era of instant communication, this thoughtful collection is a real treat… A thought-provoking and satisfying book

Good Book Guide