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steveatwaywords's review
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5
These letters between Auster and Coetzee--two of my favorite authors--offered with neither introduction nor explanation beyond their agreement to write to each other on the cover leaf, is an honest and transparent baring of the friendship between these two men as they work through (at first with humor and odd speculation, later with some more intimate revelations or worries) a wide variety of topics: war, history, sports, travel, time, aging, writing, etc. I felt as awkward reading them as perhaps they first felt in their pro forma writing of them, but as the book develops, so do their comfort levels and the reader's. I found myself looking forward to their musings each day and was growing anxious of ending the read. It does end, however, all too quickly, and I have seen no later collections of a friendship which has (one supposes) continued and grown. I love, however, how it ends, where the final letters leave them, and I closed the book feeling envious of what they have discovered and what they face. For fans of writing, for fans of either writer, for those just interested in a peek behind the scenes of what appears to us as celebrity, for a correspondence of relaxed and occasionally mistaken musings, strongly recommend.
lenuestupenda's review against another edition
2.0
La verdad este libro me aburrió mucho, o quizás es que tenía muchas expectativas sobre él, es un libro en donde platican dos de mis autores favoritos sobre temas actuales e interesantes, pero no sé... a lo largo de todo el texto hubo solo pequeños momentos en que me mantuve entretenida, aunque esto me animó a querer leer toda la obra de Auster y Coetzeé. Me gustó conocer la opinión de cada uno sobre temas como la literatura, la amistad, el conflicto entre palestinos e israelís, los viajes, algunos detalles íntimos, pero odié definitivamente la cantidad de páginas que dedican a un tema que para mi carece totalmente de interés como es el deporte, a lo mejor si hubieran hablado de otras cosas, el libro me hubiera gustado más. Algo que también me agrado fue la idea de que todavía recurrieran a mandarse cartas, teniendo a la mano los e-mails, se me hizo romántica la idea de cartearse.
sabinereads's review against another edition
3.0
I have never read Paul Auster, but am enough of a Coetzee admirer to have been drawn to this. Reading such recent correspondence is strange, as these e-mails and letters reference events barely receding into the recent past (the final pages introduce the Arab Spring) and the project feels, despite the clear permission of both authors, invasive. Auster and Coetzee share some compelling thoughts on the nature of men's interest in sports, friendships between men, and family rituals, while exchanging details of their personal lives, and indulging in a sweet friendship. The two marvel at their closeness and intimacy towards the end of the collection, but I do not find their letters thought-provoking in the way of others' (from my reading this year, Sontag and Plath come to mind as writers whose letters are always meat for discussion). I don't know what to take from these, but would cautiously recommend to those enormously interested in either writer. A quick read.
nearit's review against another edition
1.0
As explorations of the masculine banal go, this almost reaches the heights of that one podcast you listen to only because your friends make it.
bungaku_shoujo's review against another edition
4.0
ძალიან კარგი იყო <3 მაგრამ რაღაც მოულოდნელად დამთავრდა -.-
christinalepre's review
2.0
Powered through this one. I'm not sure why this book exists, or why it appealed to me as someone who isn't a particular fan of either author (I've read one or two of Auster's novels and nothing by Coetzee), but it held my interest, despite a somewhat slow start that seemed to be riddled with affect. When you think about it, these are two successful authors who decide to strike up an old-fashioned "correspondence" so I'm not sure that could have been avoided. But at any rate, once they get past the initial stiffness, the ensuing correspondence was an engaging, flowing conversation that touched upon many interesting topics of past and present events, the physical and metaphysical, all with a good dose of old man crankiness and humor. An enjoyable read.
lucaconti's review
2.0
it starts with a beautiful conversation about friendship and becomes boring and boring
canadianbookworm's review
5.0
I love Paul Auster, but haven't yet read any of Coetzee's novels. The two authors haven't met often, but they connected and decided to begin a correspondence. While they do talk about writing, their conversation ranges widely from current events to sports, politics to health, friendship to films. They are both very bright men, and I found it interesting to see how they fed off of each other, enlarging their own views as the consider what the other has said. I found that my own thoughts on these topics were awakened and went in interesting directions too. Of course, even in letters, these two are good writers and that is part of the book's appeal too. I found that it was a book I wanted to read slowly, so I could digest and think about what they wrote. To enjoy the writing, and the experience.
strickvl's review
4.0
A true pleasure, this correspondence between Auster and Coetzee. I would venture, though, that if you have no interest in either author then this book may disappoint you.
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