Book: Foe by J. M. Coetzee
Publication Year: 1986
Plot: In 1720 the eminent man of letters Daniel Foe is approached by Susan Barton, lately a castaway on a desert island. She wants him to tell her story, and that of the enigmatic man who has become her rescuer, companion, master, and sometimes lover: Cruso. Cruso is dead, and his manservant, Friday, is incapable of speech. As she tries to relate the truth about him, the ambitious Barton cannot help turning Cruso into her invention.
Miscellaneous: Foe attracted criticism in South Africa upon its publication. Critics were upset he was not speaking to issues concerning South Africa, but instead revisiting an older author and work for self-indulgent purposes. In the United States, reception was less politically charged.
We had an absolutely riveting discussion regarding Coetzee’s Foe. One reader thought it started out like a YA novel, but was soon dissuaded as soon as Susana Barton becomes more of a stalker. And then from there, we dove straight into the more metaphorical aspect of the novel. One reader wondered if this is a subtle commentary on Apartheid, as the author is from South Africa; he thought this might be a backdoor approach. Friday, the black native, has no tongue and cannot communicate. Others try to communicate for him. There are also instances of things being of substance, but not life (a stillborn, for example).
We then started talking about whether Barton’s daughter is actually there, or if she is a figment of her imagination. And this naturally evolved into a conversation revolving around the “reality” of the novel. Does Susana Barton exist? Is her story something the character Foe made up? Or if she does exist, is she a crazed woman trying to insert herself into a classic novel?
The readers related Barton’s existence to their own. She longs to be back in London when she is on the island. Then when she is in London, she longs to be back on the island. They wondered if they might find themselves in the same disposition with prison and the outside world. Related to this, one reader pointed out a passage that stuck with him throughout the week: “I ask you to remember, not every man who bears the mark of the castaway is a castaway at heart.” He replaced the word castaway with prisoner, and said that even though bears the mark of a prisoner and is a prisoner, he is not one at heart; he is in an important time in his life and is using it for a lot of self-reflection.
One reader (the librarian) suggested we read the final 5 pages aloud as a group. The final 5 pages are pretty disorienting and confusing, and we thought we could get more out of it by reading it again. And we really uncovered some things! One reader mentioned how he felt “marooned” at the end of the novel–completely separate from the rest of it. He felt like a castaway.
We also uncovered that the first paragraph of the novel is mirrored in the final page, with a change to the tense. This left us to wonder if the final pages actually took place first chronologically. Perhaps Daniel Defoe (in the novel) works through his subconscious in order to write this novel, and that’s how it’s illustrated in the last little bit. There’s a lot to be said about the relationship between author and reader in this novel. There’s the Susana-Foe relationship, Defoe-“Foe”, Coetzee-Us.
Lastly, we wondered why Coetzee used Robinson Crusoe to tell this story. After all, this novel does take some liberties with details in the original story. But perhaps there is something universal about wanting our own stories to be told (one reader suggested Susana Barton is like a proto-Kardashian, wanting to exploit her story for fame). The librarian talked about how Crusoe was merely a device to explore certain themes for Coetzee, and it could have been any story. He is not making a commentary on Crusoe, but just using bits and pieces to formulate his own meta-narrative and explore the writing process. All in all, it was an absolutely fascinating discussion.
Next week, we venture into into the world of Homer’s Illiad with Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles. So tune in next week!
Please feel free to share your thoughts on Coetzee, his work, and anything else related in the comments!
I also try to provide some supplemental reading materials in the form of papers, essays, and Q&As. Here is a link to an essay from 2012 by Marco Caracclio on the embodiment of meaning in Foe.
Until next time,
E.
You can purchase Foe here: