Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
J.M. Coetzee has won some of the most prestigious literary awards in the world – he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003, and he also won the Booker Prize twice: once in 1983 for his novel Life & Times of Michael K, and again in 1999 for his novel Disgrace (source).
While the Booker Prize is one of the most highbrow literary awards there is, Coetzee didn't show up to the awards ceremony either time that he won the prize! (source).
Coetzee is a vegetarian and has spoken and written widely on the subject of animal rights (source).
Coetzee no longer lives in South Africa; he moved to Australia in 2002 and became an Australian citizen in 2006 (source).
Coetzee is a man of many intellectual talents: he actually studied math as an undergraduate before getting his Ph.D. in English, linguistics, and Germanic languages (source).
After studying and working in the U.S. for years, Coetzee applied to become a permanent resident. He was denied! (source).