Summertime (novel)
Encyclopedia
Summertime is a 2009 novel
by South African
-born author J. M. Coetzee, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature
. It is the third in a series of fictionalized memoirs by Coetzee (the first two being Boyhood
and Youth) and details the life of one John Coetzee from the perspective of five people who have known him. The novel largely takes place in the mid to late 1970s, largely in Cape Town, although there are also important scenes in more remote South African settings. Whilst there are obvious similarities between the actual author of the novel, J.M. Coetzee, and the subject of the novel, John Coetzee, there are some differences - most notably that the John Coetzee of the novel is reported as having died. Within the novel, the opinions and thoughts of the five people are compiled and interpreted by a fictitious biographer, who also adds fragments from John Coetzee's notebooks. It was shortlisted for the 2009 Booker Prize. Coetzee is a two time winner of the Booker already and, for that reason, literary commentator Merritt Moseley believes he did not win it for Summertime.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by South African
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
-born author J. M. Coetzee, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
. It is the third in a series of fictionalized memoirs by Coetzee (the first two being Boyhood
Boyhood: Scenes from Provincial Life
Boyhood: Scenes from Provincial Life is a fictionalised autobiographical work by J.M. Coetzee, and focuses on his years spent growing up in South Africa....
and Youth) and details the life of one John Coetzee from the perspective of five people who have known him. The novel largely takes place in the mid to late 1970s, largely in Cape Town, although there are also important scenes in more remote South African settings. Whilst there are obvious similarities between the actual author of the novel, J.M. Coetzee, and the subject of the novel, John Coetzee, there are some differences - most notably that the John Coetzee of the novel is reported as having died. Within the novel, the opinions and thoughts of the five people are compiled and interpreted by a fictitious biographer, who also adds fragments from John Coetzee's notebooks. It was shortlisted for the 2009 Booker Prize. Coetzee is a two time winner of the Booker already and, for that reason, literary commentator Merritt Moseley believes he did not win it for Summertime.