Welcome to Litsy!

Written in parts, first Coetzee uses Susan Barton to provide a new perspective on the tale of Robinson Crusoe‘s island. Through her, in parts 2 & 3 I really enjoyed how the narrative contorted and led me to question the process of writing itself, and issues regarding voice, race and gender power imbalances, and also the concept of truth in storytelling. I got lost in the final (very short) part but not to the detriment of the whole. 8/10

I disagree with the New York Times. This was not a superb novel. The main character (Susan) is part of the 'Robinson Crusoe' story but her version is duller, with racist language and a weird approach to sexual intercourse. There's a sub narrative of her search for her daughter, which made no sense to me. She keeps bleating on to this author and finding 'Friday' strange... It was just a bit of a waste of time.

5/53

My mum is super pleased with her Mother‘s Day present (a six month gift subscription to the Novel Tea Book Club).
Highly recommend this as a gift option. Also got the minimalist version for my little sister and she loved it.
Disclaimer: this is my friend‘s business :)
https://www.novelteabookclub.com/

There‘s so much to ponder here, especially the ending. Lyrical prose and real questions posed about colonization and the telling of stories. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

But seen from too remote a vantage, life begins to lose its particularity...