An in-depth discussion of JM Coetzee's novel about an ageing women writer. A novel of ideas and provocations. Other videos mentioned: Meena Kandasamy 'Exquisite Cadavers" • An Autofic Oulipo! M...
Well none of us like being lectured. I haven't read this one and you left me quite intrigued to do so despite not loving it.
@MarcNash
4 жыл бұрын
I do think it's worth the read even if you end up disagreeing with it vehemently as I did
@thomasceneri867
4 жыл бұрын
He’s not lecturing the reader: as you said yourself, they are for her! From my memory, she is not a likable character: even her son has a problem with her. In many ways, she’s like Olive Kitteridge.
@thomasceneri867
4 жыл бұрын
And how could you possibly forget Disgrace?!! Read it again!
@MarcNash
4 жыл бұрын
@@thomasceneri867 That's me told! :-)
@MarcNash
4 жыл бұрын
@@thomasceneri867 They are for her, but to the readers they come across as lectures, or statements of position at the very least.
@BookishTexan
4 жыл бұрын
I think for me _Disgrace_ resonated because it dealt with questions that must have been occupying the minds of South Africans as they transitioned away from Apartheid. Because it was grounded in that event, you could both revile the narrator and yet understand his confusion as rapid changes forced him to adapt. I've read _Slow Man_ and _Diary of a Bad Year_ but they were not as memorable.
@alldbooks9165
4 жыл бұрын
Disgrace was in enjoyable but brilliant. Don’t know if I’ll get to anything else of his. Maybe one day.
@MarcNash
4 жыл бұрын
I've read it even though can't remember it at all. Don't think now I'm going back for a reread
@slashgee7827
4 жыл бұрын
It was strange seeing you breakdown what puts you off Coetzee, the same lines of thought drew me to his fiction. He does play devil's advocate & is very self-depreciating, especially in his "auto-biographical" novels Boyhood, Youth & Summertime. Esp the last which is other characters basically giving non-flattering versions of their interactions with a fictionalized Coetzee. He cultivates a very removed & impersonal persona in his books & the few interviews he gives which I understand can be off-putting but I think he captured sth about South African life that few other writers did at the time. The sense of control of persona can make him seem a coldfish or at worst pretentious, I'm reminded of an interview he did with Dutch TV where this was painfully evident. kzitem.info/news/bejne/wLCXu3uBaWSqdqA
@MarcNash
4 жыл бұрын
I shall check that video out, thanks very much
@jacquelinemcmenamin8204
4 жыл бұрын
Best book I’ve read so far this month ( only 4read) is A Crime in the Neighbourhood No 5 stars yet. Not sure what JM Coetzee is trying to achieve in Elizabeth Costello? Writing as a female author? It’s kind of creepy.
@MarcNash
4 жыл бұрын
We have to allow that men can write women characters and vice versa, but don't think it was done well in this case
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