South African-born writer John M. Coetzee won the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2003. Now a resident of Australia, Mr. Coetzee's novels are able to capture the "divine spark in man," according to the committee .
"Coetzee鈥檚 interest is directed mainly at situations where the distinction between right and wrong, while crystal clear, can be seen to serve no end. Like the man in the famous Magritte painting who is studying his neck in a mirror, at the decisive moment Coetzee鈥檚 characters stand behind themselves, motionless, incapable of taking part in their own actions."
