Every time I pick up a novel by Coetzee the standard gets better and better. The first Disgrace was, wellin my opinion a digrace how it won the Booker Prize I'll never know, that put me off for many years till earlier this year I read Waiting For the Barbarian's a good read, this latest novel Elizabeth Costello was fantastic. I was gripped from page one and it wasn't even my type of novel.
Elizabeth Costello is a famous novelist, she is now elderly and has produced a wide span of work but still remains known for her first book. In her old age she no longer writes but completes the lecture circuit, giving lectures on everything from fiction to animal rights. I said this was not my type of book because it seems (cynically) as a way for Coetzee to show his intellect, viewpoints and arguments spewing them out through his mouthpiece, Elizabeth Costello. But I was gripped because the arguments were interesting, attention grabbing. Elizabeth's life seems pretty much a mess, but the majority of the novel focused on her lectures, how they unravelled as she got closer to death.
Challenges:
I read this book for The What's in A Name Challenge and my project to complete the 1001 BooksYou Must Read Before You Die List
Elizabeth Costello is a famous novelist, she is now elderly and has produced a wide span of work but still remains known for her first book. In her old age she no longer writes but completes the lecture circuit, giving lectures on everything from fiction to animal rights. I said this was not my type of book because it seems (cynically) as a way for Coetzee to show his intellect, viewpoints and arguments spewing them out through his mouthpiece, Elizabeth Costello. But I was gripped because the arguments were interesting, attention grabbing. Elizabeth's life seems pretty much a mess, but the majority of the novel focused on her lectures, how they unravelled as she got closer to death.
Challenges:
I read this book for The What's in A Name Challenge and my project to complete the 1001 BooksYou Must Read Before You Die List
2 comments:
So you recommend this to a person who really loathed Disgrace but is prepared to give Coetzee another go.?
Yeah definately.
Post a Comment