Here and Now

I bought this as I am a great admirer of Coetzee's fiction. Coetzee is notoriously reclusive and (as mentioned in the book) has stopped giving interviews so I was interested to know more about this powerful writer. I haven't yet read any of Auster's fiction though his letters are interesting too and his frequent references to his own collected prose encouraged me to order a copy of that.Topics discussed include: friendship, sport (playing, guilt about "wasting time" watching), Israel and the Middle East crisis, South Africa, the economic meltdown of 2008, films, critics, travel writing, publishers' events. C&A (not the defunct store) have met several times and are clearly very good friends. Though only slightly younger, Auster seems rather in awe of Coetzee and almost never disagrees with him, accepting his corrections and alternative viewpoints graciously.I would think this will appeal chiefly to readers like myself who are already fans of one or both of these writers. I did learn a little more about Coetzee, though do not expect any great insight into his fiction or writing methods. There is not a great deal of discussion of novel writing apart from a brief exchange about naming characters and imagining physical spaces. But some lively ideas are thrown back and forth and I was still sorry to reach the end. One reservation, it's pretty short - 248 pages, but the print is large and each letter begins on a new page so there are probably fifty or so blank pages. I don't read particularly fast but read this in a couple of fairly short sittings. I'd have liked a little more for the better part of £10.

Schmeh. Felt like these two were pussyfooting around each other. I don't really have time or inclination to read a repressed interaction between two men who admire each other but aren't being particularly emotionally open, intellectually interesting, or indeed literary. Also the positions of their wives as backdrop in the letters made me uncomfortable, particularly Coetzee who sounded as if he regarded his as a piece of furniture. It's not overtly sexist at all but perhaps something about the dated epistolary form made them feel stilted and old- fashioned in a bad way. Nothing to sink your teeth into!

Two of my favourite writers swapping letters. John is more earnest, Paul more practical. John has more heart possibly, but Paul writes all the best choruses.

A superb, thought provoking, brilliantly written and philosophically intriguing volume from the multi-talented Mr Auster and, of course, Mr Coetzee. If you are a fan of either of these writers you will not feel let down. And, if you've never read either author before, I would still advise you to go ahead. I'm sure that you will be enthralled. An excellent purchase.

Lovely. Interesting, Intimate, Enlightening. Intriguing. A book that , even when read and digested, will still be dipped into for many years.

This book is beautifully written and makes me envious - I would love to have such amazing penpal-connection with somebody. It makes me miss "the old days" when there were no emails and waiting for the reply took ages. They cover many interesting and important topics in their letters, and not even the discussion on sports is normal or average. This book gave me a lot to think about and so far I find it the best book of the year. It might give more to people who have read books from these two authors though. Hard to say, how someone without any experience on their works would fine the letters. I wish there were more books like this!