Voici un voyageur anglais – William Burchell – qui, à l’orée du dix-neuvième siècle, parcourt les immensités brûlantes de la colonie du Cap, à l’extrémité de l’Afrique. C’est un peintre amateur ; il cherche un paysage pittoresque qu’il puisse décrire et dépeindre à ses lecteurs.Sait-il que ce qu’il cherche est en réalité un panorama composé pour un œil éduqué par les maîtres du paysage classique tels que le Lorrain ou Gainsborough ? Sait-il que l’idée du sublime, qu’il a emportée avec lui en quête d’autres beautés, est peut-être impropre à restituer les sentiments qui naissent de la lumière, de l’aridité, des solitudes de l’autre hémisphère ?Coetzee pose la question : À quel risque s’expose l’imagination de celui qui accepte non seulement de quitter ses paysages familiers, mais de s’en défaire ?

Paysage sud-africain

Le célèbre écrivain J. M. Coetzee est mort. En recueillant le témoignage de ses proches, un universitaire établit sa biographie posthume. Amant indésirable, enseignant sans charisme, homme distant et peu sociable : le portrait n’est guère flatteur. En imaginant ce qu’on dirait de lui une fois disparu, John Coetzee dévoile son mal-être et une formidable méditation sur la condition humaine.

L'été de la vie

An utterly contemporary and deeply thought-provoking novel which addresses the profound unease of countless people in modern democracies around the world.An eminent, seventy-two-year-old Australian writer is invited to contribute to a book entitled Strong Opinions. It is a chance to air some urgent concerns. He writes short essays on the origins of the state, on Machiavelli, on anarchism, on Al-Qaida, on intelligent design, on music. What, he asks, is the origin of the state and the nature of the relationship between citizen and state? How should the citizen of a modern democracy react to the state’s willingness to set aside moral considerations and civil liberties in its war on terror, a war that includes the use of torture? How does the state handle outsiders?In the laundry-room of his apartment block he encounters an alluring young woman. When he discovers she is between jobs he claims failing eyesight and offers her work typing up his manuscript. Anya has no interest in politics but the job provides a distraction, as does the writer’s evident and not unwelcome attraction toward her.Her boyfriend, Alan, an investment consultant who understands the world in harsh neo-liberal economic terms, has reservations about his trophy girlfriend spending time with this 1960s throwback. Taking a lively interest in his affairs, Alan begins to formulate a plan. Diary of a Bad Year is an utterly contemporary work of fiction from one of our greatest writers and deepest thinkers. It addresses the profound unease of countless people in democracies across the world.

Journal d'une année noire

A masterful new novel completes an incomparable trilogy from J. M. Coetzee, Nobel laureate and two-times winner of the Booker Prize   In  The Childhood of Jesus , Simon found a boy, David, and they began life in a new land, together with a woman named Ines. In The Schooldays of Jesus , the small family searched for a home in which David could thrive.  In  The Death of Jesus , David, now a tall ten-year-old, is spotted by Julio Fabricante, the director of a local orphanage, playing football with his friends in the street. He shows unusual talent. When David announces that he wants to go and live with Julio and the children in his care, Simon and Ines are stunned. David is leaving them, and they can only love him and bear witness.  With almost unbearable poignancy J. M. Coetzee explores the meaning of a world empty of memory but brimming with questions.

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