(Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 2010) Wittenberg, Hermann
J.M. Coetzee�s post-millennial writing has been marked by new forms of inventiveness, formal risk-taking and narrative experimentation that have blurred the boundaries between fiction, autobiography and social commentary. Using the example of the novel Diary of a Bad Year (2007), it is argued that this latter fiction is exemplary of Edward Said�s idea of �late style�, accounting not only for Coetzee�s surprising venture into explicit political commentary, but also his narrative minimalism. The paper looks carefully at the content and style of Coetzee�s novel, contrasting its descriptive technique with earlier fictions.