J. M. Coetzee

Diary of a Bad Year

Andrew John Kinney

Every time I read a Coetzee novel, I wonder why I've not read more of his work; it's the same way I feel about Margaret Atwood - neither of them ever disappoints. Essentially, the book has only three characters, The Author (C), Anya, and Alan, and Coetzee's characterization of each is spot on. Coetzee explores, at length, his thoughts about the decline of morality of the State (this was 2006, mind you, so I can only imagine his dismay at the situation in 2020), and he ruminates on a variety of other issues from moral choices (what is worse, killing an albatross or pulling the plug on a brain-dead baby) to J.S. Bach. But we are left to guess whether these are indeed Coetzee's opinions or simply a literary device. I think the former.

Each page after Chapter 5 is divided in three parts, the putative literary output of C, the thoughts and sayings of Anya, and conversations between Anya and Alan. It's an interesting approach, but the perspective of Anya is what drives the narrative forward, in my opinion. Since I've lived outside the US twice for extended periods, it is always interesting to hear opinions about the States from someone like Coetzee who lived in the US for seven years, and knows it well, but is an outsider.

I found this book in a pile of others (all previously read), and I suspect it's been gathering dust for at least ten years. Now I need to go back and read his first Mann Booker Prize winner, Life & Time of Michael K.

Diary of a Bad Year

Reviews