J.M. Coetzee should have titled this one "Diary of a Very Bad Book" if he wanted to give readers a true indication of what is in store for anyone who reads it because it is nothing more than Coetzee's very thinly veiled excuse to proclaim his hatred and contempt for the likes of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Tony Blair, and American society, in general. In a time when little more is required to win a Nobel Prize than to express contempt for each of those subjects, it is not surprising that Coetzee would write a book like this one for those who feel as he does. But anyone expecting a novel of quality from J.M. Coetzee is probably a few books too late and should not waste time with Diary of a Bad Year.The premise of the book finds a German publisher seeking strong opinions from a group of literature's elder statesmen, all of which are to be published in a single volume. Coetzee creates a stand-in for himself, a South African author now living in Australia, and calls him "Senor C." Each page of the book is rather neatly divided into three sections. The upper one-third of each page in the book contains one of Coetzee-C's "strong opinions," usually on politics and usually a rant against something American. The middle third of each page is written from "C's" point-of-view and involves his relationship with the young lady he has become smitten with as she types up his rants. The bottom third of each page is written from the point-of-view of the young woman and often describes the exact scene just seen earlier from "C's" vantage point.
Coetzee had the makings of a dull little novel going with the second two-thirds of each page but even that was ruined by his childish rants on the upper part of each page. Never offering alternatives to any of the things he so despises, and actually doing little more than name-calling, ends up making Coetzee look like a simpleton who is filled more with hate than writing talent. Whatever he was aiming for, if it was more than an excuse to ridicule those he despises, he missed by a wide margin. This one is so bad that I suspect it will be the worst book I read in 2008.
Do yourself a favor and avoid Diary of a Bad Year.
Rated at: 0.5
Wow, it's not often you rate a book so low. I'll follow your opinion on this one...for some reason I'd been shying away from Coetzee anyway...
ReplyDeleteBybee, I absolutely hated this book. I kept at it mostly because I found Coetzee to be personally a very irritating writer...and I wanted to respond, in-kind, to his cheap attack on my country and way of life. He's a jerk.
ReplyDeleteThanks for saving me the wasted time to read this book. Love the pun for your suggested new title.
ReplyDeleteI just finished a book was a pleasant surprise in a good way. There are universal themes present in Shades of Darkness - Shades of Grace. These include the incredible bond of family, loyalty, the existence of evil within ordinary lives, and the realization that even the most morally grounded of people can be pushed to commit acts they would otherwise never fathom.
I don't think this one would disappoint.
I'll take a look at the book, allfiction...thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeletewhere can I find an E-book of diary of a bad year...
ReplyDeleteI need your help
I am a Chinese student, and as you know we are impossible to read many new books.
If you know, I ask you to tell me
my Email is rooko@163.com
Thank you!