J. M. Coetzee (Cambridge Studies in African and Caribbean Literature, Series Number 6)

The importance of J. M. Coetzee in the development of twentieth-century fiction is widely recognised. His work addresses some of the key issues of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries: the relationship between postmodernism and postcolonialism, the role of history in the novel, and the question of how the author can combine an ethical and political consciousness with a commitment to the novel as a work of fiction. In this study, written in 1998, Dominic Head assesses Coetzee's position as a white South African writer engaged with the legacy of colonialism. Through close readings of all the novels, Head shows how Coetzee inhabits a transitional site between Europe and Africa, and it is from this position that his more general concerns emerge. Coetzee's engagement with the problems facing the postcolonial writer, Head argues, is always enriched by his awareness of a wider literary tradition. "The importance of J. M. Coetzee in the development of twentieth-century fiction is now widely recognised. His work addresses some of the key critical issues of our time: the relationship between postmodernism and postcolonialism, the role of history in the novel, and, repeatedly, the question of how the author can combine an ethical and political consciousness with a commitment to the novel as a work of fiction. In this study, which may be used as an introduction and by those already familiar with Coetzee's work, Dominic Head assesses Coetzee's position as a white South African writer engaged with the legacy of colonialism. Through close reading of all the novels, Head shows how Coetzee inhabits a transitional site between Europe and Africa, and it is from this position that his more general concerns emerge. Coetzee's engagement with the problem facing the postcolonial writer, Head argues, is always enriched by his awareness of a wider literary tradition."--Back cover

J. M. Coetzee's work addresses some of the key critical issues of our time: the relationship between postmodernism and postcolonialism, the role of history in the novel, and, repeatedly, how the author can combine a political consciousness with a commitment to the novel as a work of fiction. In this study, which may be used both as an introduction and by those already familiar with Coetzee's work, Dominic Head shows how Coetzee's engagement with the problems facing the postcolonial writer is always enriched by his awareness of a wider literary tradition.

This 1998 study, Dominic Head shows how Coetzee's work addresses some of the key issues of the twentieth century: the relationship between postmodernism and postcolonialism, the role of history in the novel, and how the author can combine a political consciousness with a commitment to the novel as fiction.

examines Coetzee's Distinctive Contribution To Twentieth-century Fiction, And To The Definition Of Postmodernism And Postcolonialism.