Coetzee wins Nobel Prize in Literature for 2003

[pynchonoid]

[...] J.M. Coetzee’s novels are characterised by their
well-crafted composition, pregnant dialogue and
analytical brilliance. But at the same time he is a
scrupulous doubter, ruthless in his criticism of the
cruel rationalism and cosmetic morality of western
civilisation. His intellectual honesty erodes all
basis of consolation and distances itself from the
tawdry drama of remorse and confession. Even when his
own convictions emerge to view, as in his defence of
the rights of animals, he elucidates the premises on
which they are based rather than he argues for them.

Coetzee’s interest is directed mainly at situations
where the distinction between right and wrong, while
crystal clear, can be seen to serve no end. Like the
man in the famous Magritte painting who is studying
his neck in a mirror, at the decisive moment Coetzee’s
characters stand behind themselves, motionless,
incapable of taking part in their own actions. But
passivity is not merely the dark haze that devours
personality, it is also the last resort open to human
beings as they defy an oppressive order by rendering
themselves inaccessible to its intentions. It is in
exploring weakness and defeat that Coetzee captures
the divine spark in man. [...] 

<http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/2003/press.html>


...sorry if this has already been posted, I'm only
reading the P-list digests these days.


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