About the Book

Following on from "Stranger Shores," which contained Coetzee's essays from 1986 to 1999, "Inner Workings" gathers together his literary essays from 2000 to 2005.

Book Synopsis

J.M. Coetzee's latest novel, The Schooldays of Jesus, is now available from Viking. Late Essays: 2006-2016 will be available January 2018.

In addition to being one of the most acclaimed and accomplished fiction writers in the world, Nobel Prize winner J. M. Coetzee is also a literary critic of the highest caliber. In this collection of twenty essays, Coetzee examines the work of some of the twentieth-century's greatest writers--from Samuel Beckett and Günter Grass to Gabriel García Márquez and Philip Roth. Brilliantly insightful, challenging yet accessible, these pieces demonstrate Coetzee's sharp eye and unwavering critical acumen. Written with great clarity and precision, they offer a window into twenty immortal texts that will be of major interest to all readers of international literature, as well as to Coetzee's many fans.

Review Quotes

? Inner Workings is Coetzee's master class, and he honors us, too, by letting us sit in on it.?
?Walter Kirn, "The New York Times Book Review"

? Coetzee describes his subjects using a variety of approaches, in a highly readable style.?
?"Los Angeles Times"



Inner Workings is Coetzee s master class, and he honors us, too, by letting us sit in on it.
Walter Kirn, "The New York Times Book Review"
Coetzee describes his subjects using a variety of approaches, in a highly readable style.
"Los Angeles Times"

a Inner Workings is Coetzeeas master class, and he honors us, too, by letting us sit in on it.a
aWalter Kirn, "The New York Times Book Review"
a Coetzee describes his subjects using a variety of approaches, in a highly readable style.a
a"Los Angeles Times"

"Coetzee the critic is every bit as good as Coetzee the novelist."-"Irish Times"
"Coetzee writes well about the technicalities of literature: like an engineer he dismantles the texts and suggests ways in which they might run more efficiently."-"Scotland on Sunday"

About the Author

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, on February 9, 1940, John Michael Coetzee studied first at Cape Town and later at the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a Ph.D. degree in literature. In 1972 he returned to South Africa and joined the faculty of the University of Cape Town. His works of fiction include Dusklands, Waiting for the Barbarians, which won South Africa's highest literary honor, the Central News Agency Literary Award, and the Life and Times of Michael K., for which Coetzee was awarded his first Booker Prize in 1983. He has also published a memoir, Boyhood: Scenes From a Provincial Life, and several essays collections. He has won many other literary prizes including the Lannan Award for Fiction, the Jerusalem Prize and The Irish Times International Fiction Prize. In 1999 he again won Britain's prestigious Booker Prize for Disgrace, becoming the first author to win the award twice in its 31-year history. In 2003, Coetzee was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.