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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
Strangely seductive. That I was able to finish this book while riding in the back of Jeep, sunburned and muscle-ached after an Ultimate Frisbee, speaks to the novel's pure readability. The beginning works as retelling of a familiar island survival tale, then the metaphors begin to feel maybe a little bit obvious, but then I was intrigued by Friday. I mean, WHO IS FRIDAY? The intellectual question that's set up becomes emotionally real.
Afterwards, I found myself continuing to mull over the book, which for me is a good sign that a novelist hit the mark. More Coetzee for me, I beleive. But first, I'm going to read the original Robinson Crusoe, which is on the "never got around to it" list.
Afterwards, I found myself continuing to mull over the book, which for me is a good sign that a novelist hit the mark. More Coetzee for me, I beleive. But first, I'm going to read the original Robinson Crusoe, which is on the "never got around to it" list.
Strange book, or meta-book, the book that a woman stranded with Crusoe and Friday could have written. But then she is in the book and also Foe, who should have helped her to write the book and then everything goes back to Friday, again.
Strano libro, o meta-libro, il libro che avrebbe potuto scrivere la donna che era naufragata sull'isola con Venerdí e Robinson Crusoe. Ma poi lei entra nel libro assieme a Foe, che avrebbe dovuto aiutarla a scrivere questo libro e poi tutto torna a Venerdì, di nuovo.
Strano libro, o meta-libro, il libro che avrebbe potuto scrivere la donna che era naufragata sull'isola con Venerdí e Robinson Crusoe. Ma poi lei entra nel libro assieme a Foe, che avrebbe dovuto aiutarla a scrivere questo libro e poi tutto torna a Venerdì, di nuovo.
I foolishly promised some insight, in my review of _Master of Petersburg_ into what separates a great Coetzee from a not-so-great one. I'm not sure I can really deliver, though this is a great book-- it reads incredibly smoothly, and the curtain, or perhaps the frame, around successive sections keeps expanding in each new section to change the stakes and deepen the reading experience.
Here, the narrator is one Susan Barton, who is shipwrecked for a year with Cruso and who then is with him when he dies, shortly after rescue. We then follow her adventures, with Friday, in England, as she tries to survive and to get money from selling the story to Foe/ Defoe.
There are the sort of expected aporiae here: what happened to Susan's daughter, for example, or to Friday's tongue-- and the circling around these topics allows Coetzee to poke at his richest material, concerning our responsibility to and deep rooted fear of our fellow man. It really is an allegory for post-Apartheid South Africa, in ways that are easy to see, but incredibly difficult to resolve.
There are moments here, I'll admit, when I wasn't completely onboard, when I found Susan unsympathetic and the narrative seemingly without direction. In the end, I was convinced that such feelings were meant to be aroused, though some readers might not be able to overcome that drift. And I haven't looked at _Crusoe_ again, but I don't think Coetzee's prose is accurately seventeenth century style. To me, that's a good thing, but instead, the prose style feels like of Victorian (though much shorter). I did wonder about that a little, but I don't want to question it too much, since it made the book that much more readable.
Here, the narrator is one Susan Barton, who is shipwrecked for a year with Cruso and who then is with him when he dies, shortly after rescue. We then follow her adventures, with Friday, in England, as she tries to survive and to get money from selling the story to Foe/ Defoe.
There are the sort of expected aporiae here: what happened to Susan's daughter, for example, or to Friday's tongue-- and the circling around these topics allows Coetzee to poke at his richest material, concerning our responsibility to and deep rooted fear of our fellow man. It really is an allegory for post-Apartheid South Africa, in ways that are easy to see, but incredibly difficult to resolve.
There are moments here, I'll admit, when I wasn't completely onboard, when I found Susan unsympathetic and the narrative seemingly without direction. In the end, I was convinced that such feelings were meant to be aroused, though some readers might not be able to overcome that drift. And I haven't looked at _Crusoe_ again, but I don't think Coetzee's prose is accurately seventeenth century style. To me, that's a good thing, but instead, the prose style feels like of Victorian (though much shorter). I did wonder about that a little, but I don't want to question it too much, since it made the book that much more readable.
A man was castaway on an island, and he survived. Whose story is this? Who wrote it? Who's telling it? Is it true? Has it been embellished? What's been left out? Whose story is missing? Where are the holes? Where are the secret stories? Shhh, don't tell anyone, it's a secret. There's a spider spinning stories, and they're all not true. But they are also true. Here's the proof.
But wait, what is 'Foe'? Daniel Defoe's actual last name before he changed it. (And also your enemy?) What is 'Cruso'? Robinson Crusoe's actual last name before Daniel Defoe changed it. (Actually, it was 'Kreutznaer' before the English corrupted it). Who is 'Susan Barton'? A woman telling us Cruso's story as told to her by him while she also was cast away on the island. [1] (Actually she's telling it to Daniel Foe. And Barton itself is a corruption of Berton.) And who is 'Friday'? A man without a voice. [2] (Also, a man who absurdly kills a bear for laughs.)
Sound like fictional meta-commentary? An infinite meta-mirror of fiction within fiction about fiction within fiction? A Kermodian treatise on the Nature of Literature itself? Maybe. But if you unravel the threads, you find a story about metamorphosis, transformation, transcendence.
NOTE: See also my review of Robinson Crusoe
[1] And her version of the story is almost the opposite of Defoe's/Crusoe's. Nothing actually happened on the island. There was no wheat planting and bread making and goat-herding [1a] and vine-tending and boat building and cannibal-killing. There was just ape-killing, because they were "pests". And it was windy, and they just ate fish and lettuce. But in both (all) stories, Providence had its hands.
[1a] Here, perhaps, we have Coetzee taking away Crusoe's powers. His shield, protection, aegis: his Zeus-like goatskin. (Not to mention taking away his Christ-like bread making.) He's taking him down a peg, that preachy castaway.
[2] Coetzee has attempted to give a voice to Friday by cutting out his tongue, by taking away Crusoe's version of Friday's words. In Barton's story, Friday came to the island with Cruso. In Crusoe's story, Friday is introduced many years later, used as an escape device, a need to turn a story of pure rumination into a story of action. Crusoe himself says that the years with Friday need not even be a part of his story. Friday's story is the secret story, but it will come out.
But wait, what is 'Foe'? Daniel Defoe's actual last name before he changed it. (And also your enemy?) What is 'Cruso'? Robinson Crusoe's actual last name before Daniel Defoe changed it. (Actually, it was 'Kreutznaer' before the English corrupted it). Who is 'Susan Barton'? A woman telling us Cruso's story as told to her by him while she also was cast away on the island. [1] (Actually she's telling it to Daniel Foe. And Barton itself is a corruption of Berton.) And who is 'Friday'? A man without a voice. [2] (Also, a man who absurdly kills a bear for laughs.)
Sound like fictional meta-commentary? An infinite meta-mirror of fiction within fiction about fiction within fiction? A Kermodian treatise on the Nature of Literature itself? Maybe. But if you unravel the threads, you find a story about metamorphosis, transformation, transcendence.
NOTE: See also my review of Robinson Crusoe
[1] And her version of the story is almost the opposite of Defoe's/Crusoe's. Nothing actually happened on the island. There was no wheat planting and bread making and goat-herding [1a] and vine-tending and boat building and cannibal-killing. There was just ape-killing, because they were "pests". And it was windy, and they just ate fish and lettuce. But in both (all) stories, Providence had its hands.
[1a] Here, perhaps, we have Coetzee taking away Crusoe's powers. His shield, protection, aegis: his Zeus-like goatskin. (Not to mention taking away his Christ-like bread making.) He's taking him down a peg, that preachy castaway.
[2] Coetzee has attempted to give a voice to Friday by cutting out his tongue, by taking away Crusoe's version of Friday's words. In Barton's story, Friday came to the island with Cruso. In Crusoe's story, Friday is introduced many years later, used as an escape device, a need to turn a story of pure rumination into a story of action. Crusoe himself says that the years with Friday need not even be a part of his story. Friday's story is the secret story, but it will come out.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism
O autor descontrói a história de Robinson Crusoé, que deixa de ser o narrador-protagonista, colocando a voz narrativa na figura de Susan Barton, náufraga que sobrevive a um motim no navio em que viajava e que acaba "aportando" na ilha de Cruso. Assim como F.Scott Fistzgerald já fizera com Nick Carraway em O grande Gatsby, deixando que o vizinho do herói conte a história de Jay Gatsby, Coetzee deixa a cargo de uma "coadjuvante" a narração das aventuras/desventuras de Crusoé.
Resenha completa no site:
http://www.cafeinaliteraria.com.br/2016/09/03/foe-de-j-m-coetzee/
Resenha completa no site:
http://www.cafeinaliteraria.com.br/2016/09/03/foe-de-j-m-coetzee/
This was a school read - way better than RC but still not something I would pick up.
Or I can be arsed to write a review about.
Or I can be arsed to write a review about.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated