Powered through this one. I'm not sure why this book exists, or why it appealed to me as someone who isn't a particular fan of either author (I've read one or two of Auster's novels and nothing by Coetzee), but it held my interest, despite a somewhat slow start that seemed to be riddled with affect. When you think about it, these are two successful authors who decide to strike up an old-fashioned "correspondence" so I'm not sure that could have been avoided. But at any rate, once they get past the initial stiffness, the ensuing correspondence was an engaging, flowing conversation that touched upon many interesting topics of past and present events, the physical and metaphysical, all with a good dose of old man crankiness and humor. An enjoyable read.