diary of a bad year

the latest book by respected south african author j m coetzee
who has resided in australia since 2002 and in 2003 won a nobel prize for literature
i'd read a positive review about this book in the monthly magazine of the same name
the title also appealed to me so tracked it down and have now consumed it
first and foremost the structure is unlike any other book i have ever read
the main character in the book has been contracted to write a series of articles
stating his opinion on various issues to be compiled into a collaborative effort
part 1 of this book are individual essays detailing those thoughts
providing opinions on matters ranging from 'on the origins of the state' to 'on dostoevsky'
part 2 of the book is the personal diary of the character come author
telling the story of his relationship with the lady he employs to transcribe his work
part 3 is this lady telling her story of that same relationship
including her own insight into many of the matters written by the author
now in a most unusual manner these 3 parts all run concurrently
in horizontal form on every page of the book
i.e. each page is dissected into 3 parts
so there is a lot of page-turning back and forward
reading forward on one part to a convenient finishing point
then returning back to pick up the thread of one of the other 2 parts
one reviewer had re-read the book by following each part from start to finish
which is a very sensible approach and probably worth doing
but i'm not one for re-reading books in the same way that i don't repeat view films
something about too many other books and films in the world to be visited
that said the opinions offered by j m c in his random essays are very re-readable
especially as each chapter is unrelated to that before or after
i found i was agreeing mostly, learning quite a lot and occasionally dis-agreeing
upon finishing the book i reflected on how it had been constructed
it is quite possible it could have been totally autobiographical
laying out his thoughts, transcribing his diary and his assistant's story
or - it could all be a clever work of fiction wrapped around the various essays
either way the essays 'on' the various subjects he has selected are very insightful
and given the right circumstances would spark some interesting debates
maybe even make for good blogging
now there's a thought....