J.M. Coetzee’s highly creative ‘Diary of a Bad Year.’
This new novel by the South Africa–born laureate is quite literally layered — three concurrent narratives run in horizontal stripes throughout the book. The upper layer consists of curmudgeonly essays about the death of human compassion; the middle one is the aging essayist's own diary; and the lowest, narrated by his typist and caretaker, tells the story of how her boyfriend connives to rob the writer. It's a deep and gripping story, full of tension … but how do you read it? From left to right, of course!
Advertising
Vulture Features
Movies | TV | Music | Video | Books | Theater | Art
Art Candy: One new artwork, every day.
Beef: Cultural rivalries and confrontations.
Chat Room: Entertainment and culture Q&As.
The Comics Page: Excerpts from new graphic novels.
The Early-Evening News: So what the hell happened today?
The Industry: The morning trade news roundup.
Kudos: Awards news, buzz, and predictions.
Leak of the Week: Listening in on the file-sharing networks.
The List: Culture by the numbers.
Overnights: Recaps of TV shows.
Right-Click: The hottest new MP3s.
Trailer Mix: Movie trailers reviewed.
Tube Junkie: Nuggets from the online video archives.
Vulture Picture Palace: Exclusive short films.
Mad Men's Nerd GirlWith a Twist

David Edelstein on Man on Wire
[title of show] Is the Meta-Meta-Meta-Musical
The Evolution of Dubstep 