Innovative authors who explore various narrative techniques have often been inclined to tell one story from several diff erent perspectives. The aim of this paper is to analyze formal repetition employed in three contemporary narratives: J.M. Coetzee's Diary of a Bad Year (2007), Dariusz Orszulewski's Jezus nigdy nie był aż taki blady (2013), as well as House Mother Normal (1971) by these authors' avant-garde predecessor, B.S Johnson. Johnson was an author ahead of his time, better fi tted in the literary discourse of the 21st century, which is proven by his presently republished oeuvre having gained fresh literary signifi cance among both scholars and readers. Each of the novels subject to analysis in this study is compiled from thoughts and observations of the same events but originating from diff erent characters. Their individual accounts, typographically separated from each other, create a multitude of perspectives on the mental and physical inadequacy felt by the characters.

Menippean satire is an ancient form of prose whose inclusiveness still prevents scholars from reaching an agreement on its one generic definition. While in its classical understanding the genre is regarded as long-extinct, some argue that its elements were carried on to the works of postmodern authors unafraid to experiment with new means of literary expression-B.S. Johnson being their prime example. At first, the author's outward hostility towards well-established conventions makes it highly unlikely for him to draw inspiration from ancient genres such as the Menippean satire. Is it then possible that while still being an uncompromised experimenter, he was also a worthy successor of classical parodists? Echoing James E. Irby's (Borges's editor's) claim that that "all writers are more or less faithful amanuenses of the spirit, translators and annotators of pre-existing archetypes," this paper aims to analyze affinities between Johnson's penultimate novel, Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry (1973), and the features of the Menippean satire as specified by, among others, Mikhail Bakhtin in Problems of Dostoyevsky's Poetics (1984) and H. Rikonnen in Menippean Satire as a Literary Genre (1987). While in its classical understanding this ancient form of prose is regarded long-extinct, these scholars argue that its elements can be found in the works of the more inventive modern authors. In fact, as Brian McHale suggests: "Postmodernist fiction is the heir of Menippean satire and its most recent historical avatar" (Postmodernist Fiction, 1987, p. 172). The paper is an attempt at presenting Johnson more in line with classical tradition, suggesting that it is possible to analyze his works in a broader critical spectrum and thus move them from the peripheral to the mainstream literary discourse. It also raises the question of the (im)possibility of an artistic creation in total isolation from any formerly known conventions.