This painting of Naomi is based on a fictional character in a Japanese novel titled Chijin no Ai (1924-1947) by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki (1886-1965). In the novel, the character Naomi concentrates on the concept of the Modern Woman. Naomi is a reworked artwork, donated by Coetzee to the University of Pretoria for the 1992 retrospective exhibition.