De Oude Vrouw en De Katten

Elizabeth Costello is a celebrated writer who she lives a secluded life in a Spanish village. Her son John is worried as she gets older. Wouldn't it be better for her to move in with him in Baltimore or come and live near her daughter on the Côte d'Azur? They have it all figured out for her and discuss it with her when they meet. John gets worked up about the shabby cottage in the Spanish countryside where his mother lives with an army of feral cats and the village idiot Pablo. Why does she feel responsible for them and doesn't want to move to a comfortable place? Do the children really want their mother so close to them? Or do they feel obliged to make their generous proposals and do not come from their hearts. It will come as no surprise to the reader that Elizabeth Costello rejects their offer. In an extremely eloquent and engaging way, she raises a number of interesting questions in these stories with a moving final chord.