Who else, but a writer, is really able to interrogate the work of other writers? An exploration and vivid interpretation of the great writer’s who have shaped and inspired multi-award-winningDavid Malouf."A first-rate writer-a sensitive historian of the spirit."  -Wall Street JournalFrom Christina Stead, Les Murray and Patrick White to Proust, Shakespeare and Charlotte Bronte, David Malouf reads and examines the work of writers who have challenged, inspired and entertained us for generations. He also explores his own work and the life of the writer, where the ever-present danger is spending too much time talking about writing and not enough doing it.These alternative views of some of our best-loved writers and readers will send us scurrying back to readJane Eyre,Kiplingand of course,David Malouf."Malouf posits a 'writing self' and a 'reading self', recognising them as distinct but complementary entities, and throughThe Writing Life,they are engaged in an illuminating conversation. His critical analysis includes autobiographical details as if part of a work's significance is the effect it has had on him. Among Malouf's many writing identities - novelist, poet, memoirist, librettist - that of the literary critic might seem to be the least of his achievements, but The Writing Life demonstrates what an attentive and thoughtful reader he is. These essays not only offer interpretations of some of the great writers who have shaped Malouf's sensibility, but they are also themselves part of a literary 'process of discovery'."-James Ley, The Sydney Morning Herald