What do you think?
Rate this book
J.M. Coetzee and the Ethics of Reading {Literature in the Event}
Nobel Prize-winning novelist J. M. Coetzee is one of the most widely taught contemporary writers, but also one of the most elusive. Many critics who have addressed his work have devoted themselves to rendering it more accessible and acceptable, often playing down the features that discomfort and perplex his readers.
Yet it is just these features, Derek Attridge argues, that give Coetzee's work its haunting power and offer its greatest rewards. Attridge does justice to this power and these rewards in a study that serves as an introduction for readers new to Coetzee and a stimulus for thought for those who know his work well. Without overlooking the South African dimension of his fiction, Attridge treats Coetzee as a writer who raises questions of central importance to current debates both within literary studies and more widely in the ethical arena. Implicit throughout the book is Attridge's view that literature, more than philosophy, politics, or even religion, does singular justice to our ethical impulses and acts. Attridge follows Coetzee's lead in exploring a number of issues such as interpretation and literary judgment, responsibility to the other, trust and betrayal, artistic commitment, confession, and the problematic idea of truth to the self.
Yet it is just these features, Derek Attridge argues, that give Coetzee's work its haunting power and offer its greatest rewards. Attridge does justice to this power and these rewards in a study that serves as an introduction for readers new to Coetzee and a stimulus for thought for those who know his work well. Without overlooking the South African dimension of his fiction, Attridge treats Coetzee as a writer who raises questions of central importance to current debates both within literary studies and more widely in the ethical arena. Implicit throughout the book is Attridge's view that literature, more than philosophy, politics, or even religion, does singular justice to our ethical impulses and acts. Attridge follows Coetzee's lead in exploring a number of issues such as interpretation and literary judgment, responsibility to the other, trust and betrayal, artistic commitment, confession, and the problematic idea of truth to the self.
- GenresTheory
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
6 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Derek Attridge
57 books15 followersDerek Attridge is a South African-born British literary scholar celebrated for his influential contributions to English literature, particularly in literary theory, poetic form, modernist fiction, and South African writing. He is especially noted for his work on James Joyce and J.M. Coetzee, and for his landmark study The Singularity of Literature, which won the European Society for the Study of English Book Award and has been translated into multiple languages. Across his career, Attridge has explored the ethical, rhythmic, and linguistic dimensions of literature, always emphasizing the transformative potential of reading.
He has authored or edited over thirty books and published scores of essays in journals and collections. His major works include The Rhythms of English Poetry, which challenged traditional approaches to poetic meter; Joyce Effects and How to Read Joyce, key texts for modernist studies; and J.M. Coetzee and the Ethics of Reading, which has become a foundational text in Coetzee scholarship. His book The Experience of Poetry traces the reception of poetry from Homer to Shakespeare, while Forms of Modernist Fiction offers an ambitious study of the modernist novel, earning recognition as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title.
Attridge has held numerous prestigious fellowships, including those from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Leverhulme Trust, and research centers in the US, Europe, and South Africa. He has also held visiting professorships in universities across four continents. He is Emeritus Professor of English and Related Literature at the University of York and a Fellow of the British Academy.
His editorial work includes influential volumes such as The Cambridge Companion to James Joyce, Acts of Literature (featuring essays by Jacques Derrida), and The Cambridge History of South African Literature. His writing is known for its clarity, depth, and ability to bridge close reading with philosophical inquiry, establishing him as a key figure in the fields of poetics, modernism, and literary ethics.
He has authored or edited over thirty books and published scores of essays in journals and collections. His major works include The Rhythms of English Poetry, which challenged traditional approaches to poetic meter; Joyce Effects and How to Read Joyce, key texts for modernist studies; and J.M. Coetzee and the Ethics of Reading, which has become a foundational text in Coetzee scholarship. His book The Experience of Poetry traces the reception of poetry from Homer to Shakespeare, while Forms of Modernist Fiction offers an ambitious study of the modernist novel, earning recognition as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title.
Attridge has held numerous prestigious fellowships, including those from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Leverhulme Trust, and research centers in the US, Europe, and South Africa. He has also held visiting professorships in universities across four continents. He is Emeritus Professor of English and Related Literature at the University of York and a Fellow of the British Academy.
His editorial work includes influential volumes such as The Cambridge Companion to James Joyce, Acts of Literature (featuring essays by Jacques Derrida), and The Cambridge History of South African Literature. His writing is known for its clarity, depth, and ability to bridge close reading with philosophical inquiry, establishing him as a key figure in the fields of poetics, modernism, and literary ethics.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 21, 2018
"The argument I am making has two levels. First, I want to suggest that all engagements with literary works [...] benefit from what I have been calling a literal reading: a reading that defers the many interpretive moves that we are accustomed to making in our dealings with literature, whether historical, biographical, psychological, moral, or political."
Besides Cees Nooteboom, J. M. Coetzee is my most favorite writer. I have already reviewed 20 of his works here on Goodreads and rated six of them with five stars, among them incontrovertible masterpieces such as Disgrace , Waiting for the Barbarians , or Boyhood . No wonder then that I have been quite eager to read a monograph on Coetzee's opus. Derek Attridge, the author of J. M. Coetzee and the Ethics of Reading (2004), is a renowned literary scholar; the book is an advanced-level study in the theory of literature, a scholarly work rather than a biography or an analysis of literary themes or techniques. The difficult text requires total focus and concentration from the reader: it has taken me almost 20 hours to read the 200-page volume.
It would take me probably 40 hours to write a full-fledged review of this extremely demanding work so I will only refer to a few of the topics examined in the book. The epigraph points to one of the main emphases: the author defends literal reading of a literary work of art. Literal as opposed to allegorical that takes "the literal meaning of the text to be a pathway to some other, more important meaning." I found Chapter Two, titled Against Allegory, particularly fascinating, with its discussion of allegory, allegorization, and the experience of allegoricity. Dr. Attridge mentions Susan Sontag's essay Against Interpretation which, according to Attridge, is
Another major topic of Dr. Attridge's study, in fact related to allegoricity in literature, is the criticism that J.M. Coetzee frequently faces for avoiding immediate references to political situation in his country, South Africa. (Without the politically correct Newspeak one could rephrase the previous sentence: Mr. Coetzee has been criticized for supposedly not being a forceful enough opponent of apartheid in his country.) Dr. Attridge points out that Coetzee's novels are about human condition in general, that they deal with universal moral and aesthetic values as opposed to contingent propaganda about particular political situation.
Chapter Four focuses on Coetzee's Age of Iron - in my view a much underappreciated novel - and Mr. Attridge points out Coetzee's understanding of the dichotomy between the "ethical" and "the political" and his alignment with the former. The fascinating relationship between Mrs. Curren and Vercueil from that novel is deeply immersed in the "universal humanness."
The Epilogue titled A Writer's Life focuses on the fictional character of Elizabeth Costello and her lectures. In the 2000s J.M. Coetzee tended to challenge his audiences during his speeches and public lectures with self-referential presentations that completely mixed the so-called "fact" and so-called "fiction." For instance, at a Nexus Conference on "Evil" that was held in Holland, he offered a fictional account of Elizabeth Costello's participation in a conference held in Holland on the question of evil.
Many more enthralling topics in this monograph await the reader; despite the advanced level of this work I strongly recommend it to anybody interested in Mr. Coetzee's opus.
Four stars.
Besides Cees Nooteboom, J. M. Coetzee is my most favorite writer. I have already reviewed 20 of his works here on Goodreads and rated six of them with five stars, among them incontrovertible masterpieces such as Disgrace , Waiting for the Barbarians , or Boyhood . No wonder then that I have been quite eager to read a monograph on Coetzee's opus. Derek Attridge, the author of J. M. Coetzee and the Ethics of Reading (2004), is a renowned literary scholar; the book is an advanced-level study in the theory of literature, a scholarly work rather than a biography or an analysis of literary themes or techniques. The difficult text requires total focus and concentration from the reader: it has taken me almost 20 hours to read the 200-page volume.
It would take me probably 40 hours to write a full-fledged review of this extremely demanding work so I will only refer to a few of the topics examined in the book. The epigraph points to one of the main emphases: the author defends literal reading of a literary work of art. Literal as opposed to allegorical that takes "the literal meaning of the text to be a pathway to some other, more important meaning." I found Chapter Two, titled Against Allegory, particularly fascinating, with its discussion of allegory, allegorization, and the experience of allegoricity. Dr. Attridge mentions Susan Sontag's essay Against Interpretation which, according to Attridge, is
"a protest against all commentary implying that the point of an art-work is to say something.The topic interests me a lot - also, I am probably biased in favor of the author's argument - as I read literature mainly to experience it as an art form. I read books to enjoy the writing and be awed by magnificent prose. I am not that interested in the stories conveyed in books and I am certainly not interested in literature as a vehicle for social advocacy. For me the form trumps (excuse me!) the message.
Another major topic of Dr. Attridge's study, in fact related to allegoricity in literature, is the criticism that J.M. Coetzee frequently faces for avoiding immediate references to political situation in his country, South Africa. (Without the politically correct Newspeak one could rephrase the previous sentence: Mr. Coetzee has been criticized for supposedly not being a forceful enough opponent of apartheid in his country.) Dr. Attridge points out that Coetzee's novels are about human condition in general, that they deal with universal moral and aesthetic values as opposed to contingent propaganda about particular political situation.
Chapter Four focuses on Coetzee's Age of Iron - in my view a much underappreciated novel - and Mr. Attridge points out Coetzee's understanding of the dichotomy between the "ethical" and "the political" and his alignment with the former. The fascinating relationship between Mrs. Curren and Vercueil from that novel is deeply immersed in the "universal humanness."
The Epilogue titled A Writer's Life focuses on the fictional character of Elizabeth Costello and her lectures. In the 2000s J.M. Coetzee tended to challenge his audiences during his speeches and public lectures with self-referential presentations that completely mixed the so-called "fact" and so-called "fiction." For instance, at a Nexus Conference on "Evil" that was held in Holland, he offered a fictional account of Elizabeth Costello's participation in a conference held in Holland on the question of evil.
Many more enthralling topics in this monograph await the reader; despite the advanced level of this work I strongly recommend it to anybody interested in Mr. Coetzee's opus.
Four stars.
July 27, 2008
Attridge's method: (1) switch Postcolonial Theory Machine to the "on" position; (2) insert Coetzee's novel__________; (3)wait ten minutes; (4) collect pellet
June 10, 2015
Theoretical approaches to Coetzee's writing up to 2003, but clearly more interested in its own theory and concept of writing than it is with lucid examples within Coetzee's texts. Each essay offers some further depth into the novel(s) it discusses, but there's a lot of noise from the theorists that seems to distance the reader from true literary analysis.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews