Since its original publication in 1974, J.M. Coetzee’s debut novel

has been variously credited with bringing a new sophistication and critical self-consciousness to the South African novel. Dominic Head writes that “it has become a truism in criticism of Coetzee that

introduces a new postmodernist strain in the novel from South Africa” (28) and, indeed, the novel remains dauntingly complex for the casual reader in both form and aspect even within the context of Coetzee’s reputation as a “challenging” author. Produced in a period of three years between 1970-4 in both the United States and South Africa, the text is composed of two conjoined novellas: “The Vietnam Project”, a story centring on Eugene Dawn, an American mythographer employed to produce a…

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Citation: Hyde, Franklyn. "Dusklands". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 May 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5477, accessed 24 November 2024.]