In Foe, the reader is put into an interesting position. We are put in charge of listening to Susan's reenactment of her story to Mr. Foe and watching her argue to him about the validity of the story to be published. She very obviously wants to get this story published and will do anything to see this through before she passes away. She also wishes the story to remain in its "true form", the way she tells it. However, Foe doesn't necessarily want to publish the story as is, and this creates an interesting dynamic between the two of them as they argue about the story on the island. Foe feels it is lacking, but Susan feels as if Friday's tongue being lost makes it worthwhile. The cool part about this exchange is that the reader has heard the story and thus can make the judgement (without the implications of Susan dying with her story untold or with Foe managing his reputation and selling books) of whether the story is worth hearing or not. Personally, I did find it lacking as well.
I think Susan's quest is noble though. I feel like I could contrast her heavily with O'Brien though in regards to manipulation of story. O'Brien views it as crucial in order to communicate his feelings, while Susan feels like it is almost pandering or a betrayal of herself,
"Once you proposed to supply a middle by inventing cannibals and pirates. These I would not accept because they were not the truth. Now you propose to reduce the island to an episode in the history of a woman in search of a lost daughter. This too I reject." (121)
I find myself more in the O'Brien camp on this one, because I feel as if Susan is writing for a much more selfish reason, and is trying only superficially to fill the the tale with meaning in order for her to have a legacy. She does not actively consider the reader as much as O'Brien does.
This post brings into light a really cool perspective that the reader basically has the same job as Foe in deciding whether Susan's castaway story is substantial without addition events. I do believe however that Coetzee uses the reader's seeming position of power to manipulate the reader into agreeing with Foe concerning the island story. By nestling the story within a novel with many other elements, Coetzee shows in a way how the novel that Foe proposes would flow. After having read all of the amazing intriguing events which occurred after Susan left the island, how could the reader be content with a simple castaway tale?
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