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.