The reception of J.M. Coetzee in Russia

Abstract

Summary The reception of Coetzee's work in Russia should be interesting for a number of reasons, not least, because of Coetzee's own interest in Russian literature. The article points at a certain analogy that is detectable in the works of J.M. Coetzee and Russian classics. The affinity, which exists on various levels including the created universe as well as a certain philosophical outlook of characters, not only attests to the South African writer's literary erudition but also points at his particular interest in Russian literary exploits, which opens the range of possibilities for further comparative study. In the second part of the article, the author surveys briefly a number of reviews which appeared in Russia concurrently with the publication of Russian translations of Coetzee's work. As it appears, Russian critics are not aware of Coetzee's essays on topics related to Russian literature, as these are not available in Russian as yet. They also seldom note intertextual links between his writing and Russian literature, and if they do, it is done in a cursory manner. Nevertheless, as can be seen in the reviews surveyed in this article, Coetzee's creative works are well known and appreciated by Russian critics and the reading public alike. In order to illustrate areas of interest on which Russian reviewers hinge their evaluation of Coetzee's novels as well as an overall tonality of their reviews, a brief summary of the more discerning reviews, usually solicited by the Russian publishers, is given in English,1 with particular emphasis on Waiting for the Barbarians, Life & Times of Michael K, Disgrace and The Master of Petersburg.