Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5848775 in Books
• Published on: 2002-04
• Original language: Spanish
• Binding: Paperback

From Publishers Weekly
In this book, originally published in 1999, internationally renowned writer Coetzee uses a fictional framework to present a speech about animal rights that he gave in 1997-98 as part of the Tanner Lecture at Princeton University. Coetzee puts his interventions in the mouth of fictional character Elizabeth Costello, an aging novelist who is invited to lecture at Appleton College. Rather than discussing her literary career, she talks about humans' cruelty to animals and asserts that meat-eaters are accessories in a crime that takes place in slaughterhouses and laboratories across the world. Spanish literary critic Martinez-Lage has translated prominent works ranging from C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia (Cronicas de Narnia, Alfaguara, 1995) to James Joyce's Yeats Is Dead! (-Yeats ha muerto!, Muchnik, 2002). This, his second translation of Coetzee (after Desgracia [Disgrace], Mondadori, 2000), sticks very closely to the original text, successfully conveying the author's academic tone and style. Despite a recurring omission of the accent on the word solo ("only") and an occasional use of dialect from Spainaparcar for "park," for exampleMartinez-Lage's translation runs smoothly. Just like the real-life Tanner Lecture, the English version of this book includes the responses of leading thinkers in different fields, such as the introduction by political philosopher Amy Gutman and responsive essays by scholar Wendy Doninger, primatologist Barbara Smuts, and others. Unfortunately, this translation lacks these valuable essays, which complement Coetzee's moral discussion. For those interested in animal rights and vegetarianism, this is still a decent adaptation and a valuable read. Recommended for academic libraries and bookstores. Carmen Ospina, "Criticas"
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