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A review by bianca89279
Elizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee
2.0
2 stars - I don't know what the hell this is or supposed to be
It started off well... I thought this will be about an ageing female writer, her struggles with ageing, role in society, the writing world etc
I'm not sure what this was about... As time went on, it got more and more incomprehensible to me, I couldn't quite understand that the heck Elizabeth Costello was going on about in her many talks, dissertations, lectures. Was her mind unravelling? Is Elizabeth Costello just a receptacle for Coetzee's philosophies, ponderings? I mean this had everything without meaning much: vegetarianism/animals rights - I was oh, ok, interesting, I'm open to it - but it went all astray.
There was a lecture on African literature - I found that interesting;
What else? Oh, these huge rants between Elizabeth Costello and her very religious sister, now a nun in a South Africa. As a devout atheist, I thought, oh, this should be interesting. I thought both women were batshit crazy and, as it's the case with most religious/theological discussions where there are two opposed sides, nothing comes out of it, they were just talking at each other, all well argued with fancy words, but nobody was listening.
There were many other subjects. I skipped ahead a bit just to see if this was going anywhere different. Nope. Elizabeth Costello was on another lecture yet again.
My biggest gripe with this - whatever it is, as I can't quite call it a novel - is that I never really understood who Elizabeth Costello was, the person, not the intellectual automaton. Most women are more nuanced. Maybe Coetzee should have chosen to write all this from a male perspective, as Elizabeth Costello wasn't that believable. She was too cold and detached. She didn't seem human. It's also possible that she was losing her marbles?
This book can be interpreted in a million and one ways. Some books you enjoy and have fun, some are informative, some you admire for their cleverness even though you don't necessarily enjoy them, I'm afraid, this one doesn't fall in any of the above categories, despite its intellectual highbrow lectures. I don't know ... It was all too dry, too intellectual without providing answers or that much food for thought in the end.
It started off well... I thought this will be about an ageing female writer, her struggles with ageing, role in society, the writing world etc
I'm not sure what this was about... As time went on, it got more and more incomprehensible to me, I couldn't quite understand that the heck Elizabeth Costello was going on about in her many talks, dissertations, lectures. Was her mind unravelling? Is Elizabeth Costello just a receptacle for Coetzee's philosophies, ponderings? I mean this had everything without meaning much: vegetarianism/animals rights - I was oh, ok, interesting, I'm open to it - but it went all astray.
There was a lecture on African literature - I found that interesting;
What else? Oh, these huge rants between Elizabeth Costello and her very religious sister, now a nun in a South Africa. As a devout atheist, I thought, oh, this should be interesting. I thought both women were batshit crazy and, as it's the case with most religious/theological discussions where there are two opposed sides, nothing comes out of it, they were just talking at each other, all well argued with fancy words, but nobody was listening.
There were many other subjects. I skipped ahead a bit just to see if this was going anywhere different. Nope. Elizabeth Costello was on another lecture yet again.
My biggest gripe with this - whatever it is, as I can't quite call it a novel - is that I never really understood who Elizabeth Costello was, the person, not the intellectual automaton. Most women are more nuanced. Maybe Coetzee should have chosen to write all this from a male perspective, as Elizabeth Costello wasn't that believable. She was too cold and detached. She didn't seem human. It's also possible that she was losing her marbles?
This book can be interpreted in a million and one ways. Some books you enjoy and have fun, some are informative, some you admire for their cleverness even though you don't necessarily enjoy them, I'm afraid, this one doesn't fall in any of the above categories, despite its intellectual highbrow lectures. I don't know ... It was all too dry, too intellectual without providing answers or that much food for thought in the end.