Summertime

About “Summertime”

A novel by J. M. Coetzee follows a young English biographer researching the late writer John Coetzee. The biographer focuses on Coetzee's years from 1972 to 1977, when he lived in a run-down cottage in Cape Town with his father. He interviews people who knew Coetzee, including a woman he had an affair with, his cousin Margot, a Brazilian dancer, and former friends. These accounts portray Coetzee as an awkward, bookish man who struggled to connect with others. He was seen as an outsider in his family and faced suspicion for his appearance and interests. The novel captures Coetzee's early development as a writer. It is the final book in a trilogy that includes Boyhood and Youth.