Elizabeth Costello

Depends on what you expect from it I guess, but it's true that there's not much narrative to speak of, it's more of a collection of lectures and essays with the characters as mouthpieces. I still thought it was really interesting though, particularly the chapter about the African novel and the way it's burdened by the exoticism the continent evokes.

A book full of interesting ideas but very oddly fragmented. It reads as though it was pieced together from assorted short stories found in the bottom drawer when the author needed a next book.

An interesting book - which is something you can depend on with Coetzee. Made me think about aging, life, and death in a new way. Not my favorite Coetzee, but definitely worth reading.

If bullfighters had as much control in the ring as Coetzee has with words, bullfights would be very dull affairs. Deep.

There are several reasons why I do not feel qualified to enjoy this novel, the first being that I don't consider myself yet able to sufficiently assess the more philosophical ideas that Elizabeth Costello contemplates.

Secondly, J.M. Coetzee's assumed literary knowledge of the reader proves surprisingly extensive. The characters of the novel ponder lines from Macbeth and the poetry of Keats; they assess the validity of Kafka, apply critical thought to Ulysses and contemplate the story of Aphrodite and Anchises.

Yet I found this to be encouraging more than anything. Elizabeth Costello provided (for me) a springboard for further consultation of sources, and presumably anyone keen on the Classics or Philosophy will find this novel at very least engaging.

Coetzee's exploration of the role of the novelist (with particular regard to public obligations and the idea of the self) is particularly interesting; several passages that contemplate this relationship I am certain will be in my mind for some time.

Incredibly dull - he lost his edge when he first moved from SA

Great one to read,me being almost vegetarian I liked Elizabeth Costello!!

a bit obscure

Too literary, too confusing and not even much of a story.

Coetzee's most self-indulgent to date. "The life and times of Michael K" is still the best.