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arash's review against another edition
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
dana7878's review against another edition
4.0
I don't know what to rate this book, because I read it for a class, and 100% Did Not Get It until the lecture. But damn, have I been thinking about it a lot since then.
Kind of a meta way to make this point, but it stuck, so thank you Coetzee.
Spoiler
Elisabeth deeply, genuinely feels that she's witnessing a massacre every day, and her colleagues respond to this desperate cry for recognition with detachment, skepticism, scorn, and pity. These were also, tellingly, my own reactions to Elisabeth when I initially read this book without context. It's so easy to poke holes in someone's argument, and I think many of us do it automatically when controversial opinions are presented in an academic format. But geez- those skeptic goggles can make us really mean. I often remember Costello's breakdown when I'm tempted to dismiss somebody's opinion because they're emotional in presenting it.Kind of a meta way to make this point, but it stuck, so thank you Coetzee.
dreiac's review against another edition
3.0
Not what I expected. The main character comes across as weak and lost. Also, advocating for animal rights’ whilst wearing leather shoes? No.
Some good points were made though and the debate was mostly enjoyable.
Some good points were made though and the debate was mostly enjoyable.
tomstbr's review against another edition
4.0
A short, classically argued case for vegetarianism. Told as a story about a woman arguing for vegetarianism, it makes its points felt without labouring any point too much. But it's all about the last scene. Good stuff.
hoorayleigh's review against another edition
4.0
Note: Barbara Smuts's response piece brought my rating up at least one whole star.
hannahvangorder's review against another edition
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
voara's review against another edition
4.0
Read a bit of this for a class then I found it intriguing so i read the whole thing :D A lot of food for thought and really enjoyed the reflections in the end by different scholars. It's funny i was meant to read this in relation to understanding the self—what constitutes the self and what makes us human and what sets us apart from animals and do animals have a ‘self’ etc But upon finishing it my bigger takeaway is its larger commentary on literature and the power of words. I do love metafiction
devinanovel's review
3.5
A decent philosophical overview of vegan concepts, but like all "manifesto fiction" it just feels flat and false. Frankly I would rather read it as an essay, although the last line almost made it worth it.
breevee's review against another edition
5.0
A brief and powerful look at the ethics of meat consumption. This book is pretty confrontational about meat consumption (the fictional speaker begins her argument by directly comparing the meat industry to the holocaust), but also raises more abstract questions about how we rationalize the line drawn between human and non-human animals, and the flawed ways in which we attempt to conceive of animals' experience. Some of the more abstract and theoretical moments in this text were a little difficult for me to tease out, but I'll definitely be mulling over the topics in this book for a while. A lightening-quick read that will stay with you for a long time.
rianneth's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75