Is it just the Babu’s customary crustiness, or is this really one of the most boring lists of all time?

King Lear had Alzheimer’s; Richard III was a sociopath; and Julius Caesar had epilepsy. Shakespeare 101, courtesy this article on psychiatry and literature.

“While Coetzee (who gives virtually no interviews) is a vegetarian, an earlier essay suggests an ambiguous view of the animal rights question that is more in keeping with the taut balancing of arguments and utter lack of consolation that characterizes his novels.” Interesting essay; the problem with depending so much on Elizabeth Costello, though, is that the eponymous character’s views aren’t necessarily shared by Coetzee himself.

Dalit writing moves beyond the simple delineation of the untouchable’s woes in India–or is it merely finding another ghetto in the breastbeating memoir? Outlook offers some perspective.

“If only we could kill off everything, living would be so much better. Apocalyptic fiction is always in danger of being the literary equivalent of a child dashing chess pieces off the board.” The VIllage Voice on Deluge.