J.M. Coetzee: Elizabeth Costello

November, 2013

A collection of short stories about preemminent and aging author Elizabeth Costello. Not particularly impressed with the writing, seems that the stories are much more focused on enunciating (preaching?) ideas, most notably on livestock welfare. Other themes also includes religon and the protrayal of evil in literature.

I hardly ever empathized with Costello; the stories that I enjoyed the most where the ones that included Costello’s son or sister, where the interaction between Costello and her family really brings out, with dramatic power, the complexity of her character. At other times she doesn’t come across as much more than a grumpy old lady.