J.M. Coetzee is the winner of several awards, including the Booker Prize, but is still a very private man. This is the first autobiographical writing we have received from him. His writing is very precise and simple—but always evoking emotion. The author did not want to supply or did not have any photographs of himself from his boyhood, so I sought an alternative. I wanted the jacket image to be simple and powerful, mimicking his writing style. The tritone printing and the use of a blueish black help make the book look special without foil and embossing.