For I was t, as I liked to believe, the indulgent pleasure-loving opposite of the cold rigid Colonel. I was the lie that Empire tells itself when times are easy, he the truth that Empire tells when harsh winds blow. Thus the Magistrate confesses in Coetzee's 1980 vel Waiting for the Barbarians. The present study looks closely into the unsettling effects Coetzee's vels have on the reader and explores the interconnectedness between stylistic choices and moral insights. Its overall aim is to disclose the effectiveness of Coetzee's narrative strategies to prompt the reader to engage in self-questioning and radical revisions of personal and social moral assumptions.This is an original and ground-breaking study of Coetzee's work. Dr Tegla's insightful close-readings highlight the ways in which Coetzee fictionalizes a variety of moral dilemmas. In particular, she shows how he turns narrative into an instrument for moral discernment. Her narratological approach advances our understanding of his achievements, and I can state without reservation that this book will be referred to as a landmark in Coetzee criticism.- Richard Bradford, Research Professor and Senior Distinguished Research Fellow, University of Ulster
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Brill
ISBN-10
9004308431
ISBN-13
9789004308435
eBay Product ID (ePID)
217555389
Product Key Features
Author
Emanuela Tegla
Format
Laminated Cover, Hardback
Language
English
Subject
Literary Criticism
Type
Textbook
Additional Product Features
Place of Publication
Leiden
Issn
0924-1426
Series Part/Volume Number
185
Series Title
Cross/Cultures
Author Biography
Emanuela Tegla has a PhD in literature from the University of Ulster and has been working recently on postcolonial autobiography and the question of identity. She is the author of The Burden of the Self: Tim Parks, Salman Rushdie and Postmodernism (2008) and of several articles on various aspects of contemporary literature. Her main research interests include ethics, morality, postcolonial literature, and the globalization of literature.