Diary of a Bad Year by J. M. Coetzee

About a writer named Senor C, who writes his thoughts on various subjects for a book that will be published in German, of which he is one of six contributors.

This book very intriguingly dogmatizes about a range of subjects, including politics, music, and writing. A commentary on the modern world, it gives voice to those of us who feel frustrated at what has happened and what we have become in recent years.

I can't quite grasp specifically what to think about this book, however. My feeling about it seems just beyond my reach.

There is the dichotomy between the old world, represented by Senor C, and the modern world, embodied in Alan, which are at odds with each other. Alan is what is wrong today, and Senor C is the ideal of how things ought to be.

Certainly, the book is about the nature of writing. How a writer's perceptions change with age. That a writer does not write in isolation, but is influenced by the world, although perhaps writers and those who wish for change have been marginalized.

It is interesting that the work is supposed to be "fiction," yet Senor C's initials are JC, he is a writer who moved from South Africa to Australia, and he admits authoring Waiting for the Barbarians: obviously, Senor C could be Coetzee himself. I think Senor C is both Coetzee and fictional at the same time, as Coetzee plays with realism and the novel form. Still, it makes me wonder if the other parts of book are true too; maybe Coetzee has written a book about how this book was written.

The book tests the boundaries of the novel. Each page is divided into three parts: at the top is Senor C's commentary (called "Strong Opinions"), in the middle is Senor C's account of his writing and of his typist Anya, and at the bottom is Anya's thoughts about the book and her relationships with Senor C and Alan. Reading the book requires comprehending three storylines that also weave and merge together into a single story. I read that Coetzee has been experimenting with the form of the novel in his last few books. Elizabeth Costello is structured by a series of lectures delivered by the protagonist, many of which have been given by Coetzee. In Slow Man, a character named Elizabeth Costello appears, claiming that the protagonist is a character in a book she is working on.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

A journey through post-apocalyptic America, a man and his son walk south towards the coast, toting some paltry scavenged items to survive...

My take on the novel: Amid the burnt ashen landscape, utter destruction and loneliness, cold nights and strong winds and piercing rain, sun and moon blocked into darkness, the world as before left only to their dreams, the man and his son are bonded by love, courage, and their need for each other... Out of that comes beauty, a triumph against the utter devastation rendered by mankind... Also, the boy wants to help the few people they encounter on the road... He is troubled by killing and by taking what is not theirs...He has inside him, as his father tells him, "the fire," or goodness, revealing that morality and virtue are indestructible in the face of total cataclysm, and the roaming cannibals left in its wake... This is symbolized both by the fires they make each night to keep themselves warm and by their repeatedly saying to each other that they are the good guys... Indeed, the man and, especially, his son may be seen Biblically, and their journey over mountains, rivers, caves, and wildernesses as a pilgrimage.

My only question: What is meant at the end when the man said they decided to track the boy?

The novel's language is poetic... A haunting novel... I really like this book.

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

A new favorite book... I learned a lot about the Civil War, particularly about some of its main players. It seems that although both the Johnnies and the bluebellies fought for the Cause, there were personal issues that trumped whatever reasons drove them to war. For Lee, duty was towards Virginia above all else. A believer in offensive tactics, his age and growing tiredness, along with years of war that produced too many deaths, affect his judgment. Longstreet, who discerns the war clearly but lacks the power of persuasion, is also haunted by the deaths of his children and by commanding against people he knows. Chamberlain is a valiant soldier, but struggles with putting his brother in the face of danger. And Armistead longs to see his good friend Win Hancock again, but dies in Pickett's Charge.

I cannot imagine having fought in this war, but the men had a special camaraderie I enjoyed reading about. Spirit, jokes, drink, and songs percolated both camps, in contrast to the fierceness with which they tried killing each other in battle after battle.

The way this book details what each man was like, their personal thoughts and problems, in addition to their war movements and decisions, is what makes this book wonderful.