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Jul 27, 2018RogerDeBlanck rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Through the use of the title character, Elizabeth Costello, an esteemed professor and lecturer, Coetzee expands upon subjects and ideas he first introduced in his short volume of essays entitled The Lives of the Animals. He essentially builds a narrative around the earlier essays and allows Costello to serve as his mouthpiece. This technique allows the novel to amount to a philosophical treatise with incidents in Costello’s life acting as influence for the ideas she writes and speaks about as a scholar. Coetzee’s prose shines at times with tremendous insight and the plot includes moments of revelation, but the book lacks the impact of a sound piece of fiction. Readers looking for titles that exemplify why Coetzee was deservedly awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature should try some of his other unforgettable novels, such as Age of Iron or Disgrace.