it's getting really interesting - I'm about halfway through - so even if you are disappointed that it's not set in South Africa, it's still quite engaging. :D
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it's getting really interesting - I'm about halfway through - so even if you are disappointed that it's not set in South Africa, it's still quite engaging. :D
Got the book today so will start it asap.
does this book swaer or have any bad things in it what is it about
Got the book today and read a few chapters.
sherlock, there isn't any swearing in the book (at least not as far as I've read). I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "bad things" but it seems pretty clean so far. Welcome to litnet, btw.
It seems fairly clean . . . ish. I dunno. It's a little dirty because it's the inside of a man's thoughts, mostly. ;) haha. although it's written quite tastefully so it probably wouldn't read as offensive.
Hey everyone!
This is my first time on the forum book club.:) I'm up to about chapter 11 on Slow Man, and what's really coming across to me is this man's constant cynicism in everything. I guess that's what happens when you're isolated within a hospital or your flat for a long time, minus half a leg, so you cannot get up to do many things.
Paul Raymont keeps referring to this 'past self' that he was, where he seemed to be a handsome flirt that everybody loved.
But I get the feeling that he's always had this cynicism, it wasn't brought about by the bicycle accident. I guess what happened with the bicycle incident was that his cynicism turned into defeatism, he sees failure in everything, his manhood, failure at starting a family or becoming a father, his life, old age.
I'm finding this book an interesting meditation on Raymont's life, as he reminisces over things of the past and present while he lies in bed with his stump of a leg.
Marijana seems to be the only person in which he finds solace, his ex-wife is pretty much the only person who visits, and they had something, but it's now in the past. I feel Margaret sees him only as a matter of duty of care to him, rather than an actual want, per se, to see him. However he seems to be infatuated with his carer, Marijana, and her family. I just finished a chapter where he proclaims to want to be part of her family, and take care of her kids, and have a little of her love.
It is interesting though how the bicycle accident brought his whole life into retrospective, putting everything he's done under the microscope within his mind. I'm not too sure where the book is going, however so far it seems to be a search for a suitable perspective for Raymont to have on his life...a good read so far.
I finished the book yesterday.
First let me say that it's funny because my real name is awfully close to Marijana and Marianna (closer to the latter, though not exact). And I don't usually encounter my name in books, with a few notable exceptions. Took some getting used to. ;)
I think for me the most interesting themes in the book were the consideration of history - what is history, whose history, does Australia have a history, what happens to someone's past when they migrate, etc
and also the consideration of "home." I really like the part where PR indirectly comments on how the word "home" is unique to the English language because in French it always has to be "chez soi" or "chez nous" or whatever. We had the same observation in a class that I was in a while ago. There is no word in French that is quite like the English word "home."
Interesting how does "chez soi" or "chez nous" translate to english?Quote:
Originally Posted by kratsayra
I'm about 6 chapters so the accident is still fairly new but Paul is so darn depressing.
Yeah i'm also still a bit into the beginning. At the bit, i think, just as Marijana is showing him a picture of her son. I accidently left the book in work this morning and havent had the chance to read it all day.
Ben, i think Margaret is a Married friend of his that he had an affair with after his divorce....
Ok, I finished it. I thought it was ok. Pretty engrossing. I really like didn't the Costello woman, though. Whenever she was in the scene, I wanted her to go away. I don't why, I guess she kinda creeped me out some. I didn't really understand her character.
I like the quote "Here I am, killing time and being killed by time"
Isn't he though? ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by papayahed
When you get up to the part where Paul talks about home and the French words, he explains. But "chez" in this context stands for, I guess, "at the home of" - like when you think of a stereotypically French restaurant "Chez Jean" or whatever, it is like saying Jean's place.
So "Chez-soi" is like "your home" or just "at home" (depending on the context) and "chez-nous" is like "our home." "Chez-moi" is "my home," and "chez-toi" is "your home" etc.
So you can't just say "home" as an idea like in English ("chez" doesn't work by itself). In order to say "home" in French, you have to have the whole construction. The closest thing is "chez soi" since the "soi" is kind of an impersonal one/oneself. But still, it's not quite right.
And if someone wants to correct my ridiculous explanation of this minute point of French grammar, feel free. :)
I thought the same thing. But then I saw that Coetzee had written a book before he wrote Slow Man that was about Elizabeth Costello (that was also the title), and maybe that book would make it easier to realize what she was doing there and her part of the story. Cause she creeped me out a bit as well, and I never really got the hang of her.Quote:
Originally Posted by Weisinheimer
As with Melon and Weisenheimer, I am also having trouble understanding who or what exactly is Costello. She appears to be what used to be called a ''deus ex machina'' contrivance with no real sense of realism. I'm half way through the book so perhaps I may still be able to figure out what exactly she is all about.
Raymont on the other hand is a very realistic character. A bit on the negative side, but his words and views are something most if not all of us can relate to.
As anyone read Elizabeth Costello?
I haven't read Elizabeth Costello but I'd be quite curious to.
At first I was really interested in her character because she was just so unreal. I wondered - how did she know all that stuff? what is really doing there? It almost seemed like really misplaced magical realism. ;)
But then I got quite tired of her. She doesn't really do much of anything. She barely even seems that useful in the story. Although I guess she does get Paul to make the critical visit towards the end of the book. She's so weird.