Abstract: English-speaking academia has witnessed an unprecedented growth in Coetzee studies from2009until now. The issue of the novelist’s authorship, among others, becomes increasingly prominent because of the open access to Coetzee’s papers, the publication of his biographies. David Attwell’s J. M. Coetzee, the Life of Writing: Face to Face with Time is a milestone in this critical field in terms of its research methodology, argument, referentiality, readability. Revolving around the construction of Coetzee’s authorship from the perspective of genetic criticism, the monograph insightfully explores how Coetzee’s life influences his writing in a philosophical, ethical way

Key words: David Attwell, J.M. Coetzee, authorship