Elizabeth Costello by J M Coetzee

Elizabeth Costello

J M Coetzee

This book demands that you take the trouble to read it properly. It's a book of ideas, as much as a story about an ageing female writer, and her family relationships. Take your time, stop, think, and enjoy the challenge of Coetzee's writing.

Extract
A month has passed. She is at home, settled back into her own life, the African adventure behind her. Of the reunion with Blanche she has made nothing yet, though the memory of their unsisterly parting nags at her. "There is a story I want to tell you", she writes, "about Mother".
Parallels
  • Sons and Lovers by D H Lawrence
  • The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif