J.M. Coetzee gave a reading tonight (17 Dec) from his Diary of a Bad Year, at the U of Tokyo (Komaba). A Great voice and great attitude. Especially impressive were the scenes from the Egyptian abattoir and the essay-like part on Dostoievski.
The UK edition has a great photograph of a crow on its dust jacket; the Australian edition somebody had boasted a totally different look.
And Coetzee was smiling, despite the reputation of somebody who never smiles.
The book originally had three voices, so I am told. Of which the author picked up two for reading; that's his mise en scène. The book sounded very interesting. I hope to read it through during the vacances de noël.
