Summertime - Softcover
A young English biographer is working on a book about the late writer, John Coetzee. He plans to focus on a period in the seventies when, the biographer senses, Coetzee was 'finding his feet as a writer'.
He embarks on a series of interviews with people who were important to Coetzee - a married woman with whom he had an affair, his favourite cousin Margot, a Brazilian dancer whose daughter had English lessons with him, former friends and colleagues. Thus emerges a portrait of the young Coetzee as an awkward, bookish individual, regarded as an outsider within the family. His insistence on doing manual work, his long hair and beard, and rumours that he writes poetry evoke nothing but suspicion in the South Africa of the time.
He embarks on a series of interviews with people who were important to Coetzee - a married woman with whom he had an affair, his favourite cousin Margot, a Brazilian dancer whose daughter had English lessons with him, former friends and colleagues. Thus emerges a portrait of the young Coetzee as an awkward, bookish individual, regarded as an outsider within the family. His insistence on doing manual work, his long hair and beard, and rumours that he writes poetry evoke nothing but suspicion in the South Africa of the time.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
"This is the third instalment of a life so reserved, so repressed, so seething with polite rage and restrained despair that it could only be approached through a third-person voice...it is wonderful stuff. But then, Coetzee is wonderful: edgy, black, remorselessly human, witty, and often outright funny...Summertime is offbeat and deliberate, elusive and truthful" (Irish Times)
"The cumulative effect of Coetzee's unblinking honesty and his never-wavering seriousness, is an understanding of the creation of a great writer" (Sunday Telegraph)
"Beautifully reflective... reveal a strangely sincere, self-critical and romantic man...an intense outstanding and very enjoyable talent." (Scotland on Sunday)
"Both an elegant request that the sum of Coetzee's existence as a public figure be looked for only in his writing, and ample evidence, once again, why that request should be honoured" (Observer)
"A subtle, allusive meditation: an intriguing map of a weak character's constricted heart struggling against the undertow of suspicion within South Africa's claustrophobic, unpoetic, overtly macho society" (Financial Times)
Book Description:
"The cumulative effect of Coetzee's unblinking honesty and his never-wavering seriousness, is an understanding of the creation of a great writer" (Sunday Telegraph)
"Beautifully reflective... reveal a strangely sincere, self-critical and romantic man...an intense outstanding and very enjoyable talent." (Scotland on Sunday)
"Both an elegant request that the sum of Coetzee's existence as a public figure be looked for only in his writing, and ample evidence, once again, why that request should be honoured" (Observer)
"A subtle, allusive meditation: an intriguing map of a weak character's constricted heart struggling against the undertow of suspicion within South Africa's claustrophobic, unpoetic, overtly macho society" (Financial Times)
A rich, funny, and deeply affecting autobiographical new novel from one of the world's greatest living writers.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherVintage
- Publication date2010
- ISBN 10 009954055X
- ISBN 13 9780099540557
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages272
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: Used; Good. Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. This book is in good condition but will show signs of previous ownership. Please expect some creasing to the spine and/or minor damage to the cover. Damaged cover. The cover of is slightly damaged for instance a torn or bent corner. Seller Inventory # CHL9470028
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Book Description Softcover. Condition: Bon. Traces de pliures sur la couverture. Traces d'usure sur la couverture. Ammareal reverse jusqu'à 15% du prix net de cet article à des organisations caritatives. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION Book Condition: Used, Good. Traces of creases on the cover. Signs of wear on the cover. Ammareal gives back up to 15% of this item's net price to charity organizations. Seller Inventory # E-668-216
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Book Description Condition: Aceptable. A rich, funny, and deeply affecting autobiographical new novel from one of the world's greatest living writers.EAN: 9780099540557 Tipo: Libros Categoría: Título: SummertimeAutor: COETZEE, J.M. Editorial: VINTAGE UK. Seller Inventory # Happ-2023-03-31-b7370897
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Book Description Condition: Muy bueno. A rich, funny, and deeply affecting autobiographical new novel from one of the world's greatest living writers.EAN: 9780099540557 Tipo: Libros Categoría: Título: SummertimeAutor: COETZEE, J.M. Editorial: VINTAGE UK. Seller Inventory # Happ-2024-01-11-f1946f65
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Book Description Condition: Bueno. A rich, funny, and deeply affecting autobiographical new novel from one of the world's greatest living writers.EAN: 9780099540557 Tipo: Libros Categoría: Título: SummertimeAutor: COETZEE, J.M. Editorial: VINTAGE UK. Seller Inventory # Happ-2024-01-16-b0d709f9
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Summertime - Scenes from provincial life
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Book Description Couverture souple. Condition: bon. RO80245865: 2010. In-12. Broché. Bon état, Couv. légèrement pliée, Dos satisfaisant, Papier jauni. 266 pages. Texte en anglais. . . . Classification Dewey : 820-Littératures anglaise et anglo-saxonne. Seller Inventory # RO80245865
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Summertime J.M. Coetzee
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