Elizabeth Costello is a novel about an Australian writer who is famous primarily for an early work titled The House on Eccles Street where she uses the figure of Molly Bloom from James Joyce's Ulysses as the protagonist. Her writing career appears to be over and the novel goes on to tell of a series of engagements Elizabeth has at various locations around the world to expound some of her philosophical viewpoints. She is given an award from an American College and delivers a lecture on "realism." As part of this she talks about books and how they will perish: "they are going to be pulped because there is no buyer for them . . . they are going to be opened and read for a page or two and then yawned at and put aside for ever, they're going to be left behind at seaside hotels or in trains . . ." (This last point reminds me of bookcrossing.) At another lecture, she discusses animal rights and her view that the use of animals for food is comparable to the Holocaust of WWII and the slaughter of millions of Jews. This does not go over well with many of the listeners. Another lecture takes place in Africa where her sister is a missionary. Her sister is very religious and criticizes the humanities and Elizabeth's philosophy about Greek culture. And then there is a lecture on evil where Elizabeth criticizes a novel by Paul West titled The Very Rich Hours of Count von Stauffenberg. The novel graphically details the execution of plotters against Hitler and Elizabeth feels the evil in this passage can affect both the writer and the reader of it. (This novel is real and of course I now want to read it.)
Overall, not a lot happens in this novel and to many readers it is probably going to be a boring read. However, the ideas presented in the novel are very stimulating and left me with a lot to think about.
Overall, not a lot happens in this novel and to many readers it is probably going to be a boring read. However, the ideas presented in the novel are very stimulating and left me with a lot to think about.
