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October 02, 2003, 13:45
J.M. Coetzee, the enigmatic South African novelist, has won the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature, the Swedish Academy said today.
J.M. Coetzee, born in Cape Town in 1940, writes in English and portrays a desolate vision of his racially divided country. Coetzee won wide acclaim and a Booker Prize for his novel Life and Times of Michael K in 1983. His lean, allegorical style has drawn comparisons with Franz Kafka and Samuel Beckett.
However, Coetzee, an academic currently spending a term at the University of Chicago, shuns the spotlight. He did not turn up for the Booker ceremony and could not be located immediately by the Swedish Academy to be told he had won the 10 million Swedish crown (R9 million) prize.
"J.M. Coetzee's novels are characterised by their well-crafted composition, pregnant dialogue and analytical brilliance," said the Swedish Academy's citation, adding that his work "portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider".
Coetzee has figured on the list of favourites for the Nobel for some years. The last South African to win the literature prize was novelist Nadine Gordimer in 1991. - Reuters
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