Here and Now: Letters 2008-2011 by Paul Auster (EPUB)

Description

“[A] civilized discourse between two cultivated and sophisticated men. . . . It’s a pleasure to be in their company.” —Michael Dirda, The Washington PostJ.M. Coetzee’s latest novel, The Schooldays of Jesus, is now available from Viking. Late Essays: 2006-2016 will be available January 2018. After a meeting at an Australian literary festival brought them together in 2008, novelists Paul Auster and J. M. Coetzee began exchanging letters on a regular basis with the hope they might “strike sparks off each other.” Here and Now is the result: a three-year epistolary dialogue that touches on nearly every subject, from sports to fatherhood, literature to film, philosophy to politics, from the financial crisis to art, death, eroticism, marriage, friendship, and love. Their high-spirited and luminous correspondence offers an intimate and often amusing portrait of these two men as they explore the complexities of the here and now and reveal their pleasure in each other’s friendship on every page.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I read the book twice. For the first time, my feelings were ambivalent. I am a fan of Coetzee; Auster is known to me from the films (Smoke, Lulu on the Bridge), so I was expecting an exchange of letters arising from the internal needs of both writers and not of correspondence ordered by a publisher. But I changed my mind. Value in itself is not only a varied picture of the world in the eyes of the older (Coetzee) and younger author (Auster), but also their personal relationship, marked by positive intentions and emotions – openness, curiosity and respect for the respondent and his literary work. It is an example to follow as a model for a working relationship and human relations. “In other words, the basis of my interest is ethical rather than aesthetic,” as Coetzee says in one of his letters.

⭐My lukewarm response to this series of letters between two literary giants, Auster and Coetzee, may reflect more on my expectations and assumptions about such a book. I was bitterly disappointed, especially in the self-aggrandising contribution made by Coetzee.As a fan of both writers, I fear my expectations drew on some projected beliefs about the whole being more than the sum of the parts. The author of Disgrace and Elizabeth Costello has much in common with the mind that conceived Leviathan. I anticipated an intense, intellectual exchange about the challenge of devising and structuring such ideas-driven fiction. I thought I’d find insights, Paris Review style, into the writing process, or at the very least, honest self-revelation about the demons that attend the novelist, and the means by which they might be banished. Advocates of the ‘literary biography as voyeurism’ school will curl their lips here; Coetzee and Auster surely may write to each other about any damn thing they please. Indeed. But why seek publication? The exercise smacks of vanity, or worse, avarice. Or extreme narcissism (that is, even more than one needs to be a novelist, which is considerable). I am not unsympathetic to the fiscal imperative all writers confront, but even allowing for the narcissism which must necessarily accompany literary talents of such proportions as these, it seems an error of judgement has occurred. It may be a salutary lesson, to seek the novelist only in the novels.

⭐This slender collection of letters exceeded my expectations. Definitely suited for Auster/Coetzee fans because the letters offer new insights to two men who are some of the greatest literary minds alive today. Both are philosophical in nature and think seriously about life, art, literature and things as common as “friendship” and discuss their thoughts freely and openly in these letters. It is not necessary to be familiar with either author’s writing, yet being familiar will add depth to the collection. I found the two men’s discussion of critics, letters from readers, and literary reviews fascinating, and also enjoyed the discussions of “friendship” etc. While at times, I was put off by Auster’s political views which were naive and prone to following “slippery slope” types of flawed thinking, overall I found the letters inspiring and intellectually provocative. The collection was a fast read, hard to put down and an example of a successful collaboration among two brilliant writers

⭐All Weather FRIENDS They gather like good neighbors to haul sandbags when deadly floods surge from a greedy river. Foul weather friends easy to spot, in their purity. Fair weather friends lift facile glasses for toasts. All weather friends, bring warm hugs and smiles, To absorb pain or magnify joy… in the now.FRIENDSHIP Sounds and sights of everything important, that wander close to the heart of Meaning. Condensation of Life’s essence in memories. Soothing, self-other melodies that last for decades, and stir long nostalgic soul-dances. Surprised again and again by reunion joys. Prayers of thanksgiving offered, for Friendship’s special soaring song for all seasons of Life.

⭐Despite the book’s slightly contrived premise, and occasionally forced or dead-end lines of conversation, Coetzee and Auster make for a good balance – Coetzee’s insightful abstractions (I think he’d tip the scale on a contest of quotable quotes) are held in check by Auster’s insistence on anecdotal illustrations (predictably enough, Auster wins on good yarns). They’re like literary versions of those old muppets Waldorf and Statler. Full of amusing gripes and jokes.I enjoyed it. I’ll be buying the next episode.

⭐I had read a few of each aouthers books and was curious when they put together a book of their letters. I found the bookvery intesting. They discussed their slants on many and various subjects such as Literature, Politics, Art, Sports, Films anda lot more. It’s the kind of book I will pick up and read again.

⭐The corrispondence between Auster and Cotzee is very interesting, if we consider their high value as writers , but also as personalities around the civil rights.The arguments of the book are given from literature, and in a certain sense we can consider it as literature about literature,a “critics of the critics” as Todorov think that.But the reader has the possibility to see several arguments also about the sport, following this book in a way speedy.An interesting aspect is the way how the nations have their evolution, and the literature is the mirror of those facts, if it is able to understand the modern trends.

⭐Both of these gentlemen are very good writers, of course, but Coetzee comes across as open and curious, whereas Auster, particularly in the early going, gives new meaning to the word solipsistic. He improves, but never seems confident in his intellectual interactions with Coetzee.

⭐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!

⭐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.

⭐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.

⭐A good read. A different kind of genre.Exchange of letters through pre arrangement. The letters represent views and opinions of two well known authors on varied subjects including incestous relationships.Enjoyable read with an easy flow of language.

Keywords

Free Download Here and Now: Letters 2008-2011 in EPUB format
Here and Now: Letters 2008-2011 EPUB Free Download
Download Here and Now: Letters 2008-2011 2013 EPUB Free
Here and Now: Letters 2008-2011 2013 EPUB Free Download
Download Here and Now: Letters 2008-2011 EPUB
Free Download Ebook Here and Now: Letters 2008-2011