Examines Coetzee's distinctive contribution to twentieth-century fiction, and to the definition of postmodernism and postcolonialism.

Preface; List of abbreviations; Chronology; 1. The writer's place: Coetzee and postcolonial literature; 2. Writing violence: Dusklands; 3. The wrong kind of love: In the Heart of the Country; 4. An ethical awakening: Waiting for the Barbarians; 5. Gardening as resistance: Life and Times of Michael K; 6. The maze of doubting: Foe; 7. A true confession: Age of Iron; 8. Producing the demon: The Master of Petersburg; Notes; Bibliography; Index.