J. M. Coetzee: Elizabeth Costello (2003, Random House Australia)
240 pages
English language
Published July 15, 2003 by Random House Australia.
Elizabeth Costello is a distinguished and aging Australian novelist whose life is revealed through a series of eight formal addresses. From an award-acceptance speech at a New England liberal arts college to a lecture on evil in Amsterdam and a sexually charged reading by the poet Robert Duncan, the author draws the reader toward its astonishing conclusion. The novel is, on its surface, the story of a woman's life as mother, sister, lover, and writer. Yet it is also a profound and haunting meditation on the nature of storytelling.
Phenomenal writing. An exploration of meaning in life through various philosophies and belief systems presented as a series of events in the life of fictional writer Elizabeth Costello. The text feels very autobiographical at times. Each chapter gives insight into a way of thinking that combines philosophy and religious belief.
