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Connie G's Reviews > Foe
Foe
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In Foe, Susan Barton is set adrift in a rowboat after a mutiny on a ship sailing from South America to Lisbon. She lands on an island where Cruso and Friday had been cast away years ago. In Coetzee's retelling of the Robinson Crusoe tale, Cruso is content with his simple life on the island. Friday has been transformed from a Caribbean to a black African whose tongue had been cut out by slave owners. The three castaways are rescued after Susan has spent one year on the island, but Cruso dies on his way back to Europe.
Susan wants to write their story so she contacts the author Daniel Foe to turn her narration into a book. But Foe wants to tell a different story about Susan than the one she thinks is important. Susan is also disturbed about Friday's lack of a voice. Although Friday has been liberated from slavery, he cannot ever really be free with no voice. The theme seems to be that the oppressed and disadvantaged have been silenced, and lost the authorship of their own stories.
J.M. Coetzee was writing in 1986 in South Africa where communication problems and cultural differences existed between the black Africans and white colonialists. The original Crusoe story was a fictional autobiography and adventure story with 17th Century ideas about colonialism, gender, and slavery. Coetzee has updated the tale by adding a woman narrator, an African servant, and a 20th Century outlook.
Susan wants to write their story so she contacts the author Daniel Foe to turn her narration into a book. But Foe wants to tell a different story about Susan than the one she thinks is important. Susan is also disturbed about Friday's lack of a voice. Although Friday has been liberated from slavery, he cannot ever really be free with no voice. The theme seems to be that the oppressed and disadvantaged have been silenced, and lost the authorship of their own stories.
J.M. Coetzee was writing in 1986 in South Africa where communication problems and cultural differences existed between the black Africans and white colonialists. The original Crusoe story was a fictional autobiography and adventure story with 17th Century ideas about colonialism, gender, and slavery. Coetzee has updated the tale by adding a woman narrator, an African servant, and a 20th Century outlook.
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Reading Progress
February 16, 2014
– Shelved as:
to-read
February 16, 2014
– Shelved
February 16, 2014
– Shelved as:
book-club
February 16, 2014
– Shelved as:
classic
February 16, 2014
– Shelved as:
1001-books
April 8, 2014
–
Started Reading
April 8, 2014
–
Finished Reading
November 19, 2014
– Shelved as:
nobel-prize-author
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Dolors
(last edited Apr 09, 2014 01:32AM)
(new)
Apr 09, 2014 01:31AM
Thanks for bringing this novel to my attention and for that enlightening closing paragraph Connie. It reminded me a bit of Melville's approach in "Benito Cereno". I need to read more by Coetzee.
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Dolors wrote: "Thanks for bringing this novel to my attention and for that enlightening closing paragraph Connie. It reminded me a bit of Melville's approach in "Benito Cereno". I need to read more by Coetzee."This was the first time I've read a book by Coetzee. Is there another one that you would recommend?
I have only read Disgrace, which I found extremely disturbing in the way it blended the psychological with the factual without embellishments of any sort. Difficult to empathize with its main character though, a womanizer and egocentric professor in post-apartheit South-Africa, whose life changes when he visits his daughter in a farm in the middle of nowhere. Turbulent undercurrents going on in that novel that wouldn't leave you indifferent, I think.
Dolors wrote: "I have only read Disgrace, which I found extremely disturbing in the way it blended the psychological with the factual without embellishments of any sort. Difficult to empathize with it..."Thanks, Dolors.
I have read 'Disgrace' and found it disturbing and upsetting in the sense that I could not, for the life of me, understand why a woman should forgive a violent rape and take the blame for it, simply because it is the political correct thing to do. It was expected of her to take the blame for colonialism and accept the rape as justified. In the end I found Coetzee unacceptable, to be honest. He is trying too hard to be controversial and sell books. But that's an extremely personal point of view, of course.
Margitte wrote: "I have read 'Disgrace' and found it disturbing and upsetting in the sense that I could not, for the life of me, understand why a woman should forgive a violent rape and take the blame for it, simpl..."I just read a few reviews of the book, and can certainly see why you found "Disgrace" upsetting. Two wrongs cannot turn into a right situation. I appreciate your comments, Margitte.
Margitte wrote: "I have read 'Disgrace' and found it disturbing and upsetting in the sense that I could not, for the life of me, understand why a woman should forgive a violent rape and take the blame for it, simpl..."I had the same problem Margitte, I couldn't understand Lucy's motives not to fight back, but I guess Coetzee presented her as some sort of allegorical scapegoat not only for the historical sins committed during Apartheid but also for her father's failures. All the characters in the novel are disgraced in the end and I managed to make some sense out of it in the metaphorical sense, but I also found it very hard to accept Lucy's reaction to such an abuse, it was even a bit macabre.
I did try one of his novels, Age of Iron. Though it was a good book, it was difficult to like his writing style.
Amalie wrote: "I did try one of his novels, Age of Iron. Though it was a good book, it was difficult to like his writing style."His writing is not straight forward, and can be open to different interpretations.
Elyse wrote: "My mind is expanding here Connie.... thank you for these Coetzee reviews. xo."Thanks for reading my review, Elyse. Coetzee definitely gets people talking about his books.
