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"Since the controversy and acclaim that surrounded the publication of Disgrace (1999), the awarding of the Nobel Prize for literature and the publication of Elizabeth Costello: Eight Lessons (both in 2003), J. M. Coetzee's status has begun to steadily rise to the point where he has now outgrown the specialized domain of South African literature. Today he is recognized more simply as one of the most important writers in the English language from the late 20th and early 21st century. Coetzee's productivity and invention has not slowed with old age. The Childhood of Jesus, published in 2013, like Elizabeth Costello, was met with a puzzled reception, as critics struggled to come to terms with its odd setting and structure, its seemingly flat tone, and the strange affectless interactions of its characters. Most puzzling was the central character, David, linked by the title to an idea of Jesus. J.M. Coetzee's The Childhood of Jesus: The Ethics of Ideas and Things is at the forefront of an exciting process of critical engagement with this novel, which has begun to uncover its rich dialogue with philosophy, theology, mathematics, politics, and questions of meaning."-- Machine generated contents note: -- Notes on Contributors -- Acknowledgements 1. Introduction -- Jennifer Rutherford (University of Adelaide, Australia) and Anthony Uhlmann (University of Western Sydney, Australia) -- Section One: Philological and Philosophical Concerns -- 2. What Does J.M. Coetzee's Novel, The Childhood of Jesus Have To Do with the Childhood of Jesus? -- Robert Pippin (University of Chicago, USA) -- 3. Pathos of the Future: Writing and Hospitality in Coetzee's The Childhood of Jesus -- Jean-Michel Rabaté (University of Pennsylvania, USA) -- Section Two: Socio-Political Concerns -- 4. Thinking Through Shit in The Childhood of Jesus -- Jennifer Rutherford (University of Adelaide, Australia) -- 5. Coetzee's Republic: Plato, Borges, and Migrant Memory In The Childhood Of Jesus -- Lynda Ng (Sydney University, Australia) and Paul Sheehan (Macquarie University, Australia) -- Section Three: Intertextual Concerns -- 6. Creative Intuition: Coetzee, Plato, Bergson and Murnane -- Anthony Uhlmann (University of Western Sydney, Australia) -- 7. The Name of the Number: Transfinite Mathematics in The Childhood of Jesus -- Baylee Brits (University of New South Wales, Australia) -- Section Four: Ethical Concerns -- 8. J. M. Coetzee and the Parental Punctum -- Sue Kossew (Monash University, Australia) -- 9. Coetzee's The Childhood of Jesus and the Moral Image of the World -- Tim Mehigan (University of Queensland, Australia) -- 10. Beyond the Literary Theme Park: J. M. Coetzee's Late Style in The Childhood of Jesus -- Yoshiki Tajiri (The University of Tokyo, Japan) Index
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