The Malcontents: The Best Bitter, Cynical, and Satirical Writing in the World [Hardcover]

Joe Queenan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2002

Popular satirist Queenan proves that cynicism in literature flourished long before Generation X in this acerbic compendium of the best classic satirical writing from the last several centuries, as well as from Ancient Greece.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

It's no surprise that, as he claims in his thoughtful and witty introduction, humorist Queenan (Balsamic Dreams) relished the opportunity to pore over and select the hilarious and sometimes disturbing works in this anthology. As he points out, "One of the great pleasures in reading books that are hundreds and even thousands of years old is in discovering how little the targets of the satirist have changed over the centuries." The buffoonery and sometimes depravity of such targets are on full display in this volume, which features 30 works by 19 authors and includes such classics as "A Modest Proposal," Candide, and shorter pieces by Mark Twain and Flann O'Brien. Gargantua and Pantagruel and Don Quixote rollick through brief selections as well. Queenan makes a good case for the less obvious choices rounding out the collection, notably Machiavelli's The Prince and de Sade's Justine, but he fails to link the ancient with the contemporary: the last half-century of bitter and cynical writing goes disappointingly ignored. And yet, though heavily weighted toward "classic satire," this anthology is likely the best of its kind to date. Recommended for all libraries.
Christopher Tinney, Brooklyn, NY
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

". . . this anthology is likely the best of its kind to date." -- Library Journal --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1200 pages
• Publisher: Running Press Book Publishers; 1St Edition edition (August 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762413441
• ISBN-13: 978-0762413447
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #963,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars For Whom Is This Book Compiled?, January 24, 2003

By 

Robert Derenthal "bucherwurm" (California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Malcontents: The Best Bitter, Cynical, and Satirical Writing in the World (Hardcover)

The cover says that this is the "Best bitter, cynical, and satirical writing in the world." That such is the case is highly questionable, but let's not quibble about that. I already own much of this material so I was a bit let down about that.

If you have a decent library of the classics you may well find yourself in my position. Voltaire's Candide; Machiavelli's The Prince; Pope's The Rape of the Lock; Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray. They are all sitting on a shelf in my library. What I do not have is Jane Austen's obscure Lady Susan which was not even published until more than 50 years after her death.

I would also note that the selections do not contain any explanatory notes. Many older works use terms and references unknown to the contemporary general reader. If you read Pope's Rape of the Lock in the Norton Anthology of Poetry you will find approximately 75 notes that help the reader understand the classical or eighteenth century references. In "The Malcontents" you get no aids to understanding.

I realize that there may be a certain intellectual snobbery in saying that these works should all be on your bookshelf. I don't think that they need be there, but if you don't already own them, do you want to own them? This book contains a wide smattering of literature from Aristophanes' play The Birds, written around 400BC, to essays by Mark Twain, to short stories by Saki. Whole novels and plays are presented, bulking up the book and limiting the possible variety that could be found in an almost 1100 page volume of satire and cynicism. Indeed only 19 authors are represented.

I really don't think this is a collection that would appeal to the average reader. On the credit page it should be noted that most of this material was taken from Dover editions. As you may know Dover Publications sells very inexpensive copies of the classics. You could get most of the works in this expensive book by purchasing Dover reprints of each of these works for a couple of bucks a piece. And the little Dover books can be easily held when reading in bed, while this compilation can barely be lifted at all.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I have all this stuff already, January 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Malcontents: The Best Bitter, Cynical, and Satirical Writing in the World (Hardcover)

I bought this book sight unseen, knowing neither what was in it, nor having any reviews to go on. But then, the fact that it's a Joe Queenan compilation of funny writing was all I needed to know. How could I go wrong ?

The choices in this book undeniably live up to the claim of being the best bitter, cynical and satirical writing in the world. But they will already be well familiar to anyone who seeks out this genre.

The first item presented is "The Birds" by Aristophanes. A great play, but I have it already. Then there's a short satire by Juvenal. Then "The Prince", by Machiavelli, is presented whole. I already have "The Prince". It's one of the first books I ever bought. Then there are short excerpts from "Gargantua and Pantagruel" and "Don Quixote". I already have these books in complete editions. Then there's "Volpone" by Ben Jonson. Then there's Moliere's "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme". Then there's Jonahtan Swift's "A Modest Proposal", which I have read many times by now. Then there's Alexander Pope's "The Rape Of The Lock". Then there's "Candide", by Voltaire, which I have already. Then there's an excerpt from "Justine", by de Sade. Then there's "Lady Susan", by Jane Austen, which I have already. Then there's "The Nose", by Nikolai Googol.

Then there are some lesser-known Mark Twain pieces, which I don't have. That's good, because I already have "Huckleberry Finn" and "Puddnhead Wilson". This is the only author for which Queenan is doing what I think he should, by compiling shorter and uncollected works with which someone might not already be familiar.

Then there are some pieces by Ambrose Bierce, which I have already, in that fairly-priced Dover edition. Then there's "The Picture Of Dorian Gray", by Oscar Wilde. Then there's "Mrs. Warren's Profession", by George Bernard Shaw. Then there are some Saki stories. Finally, there are some pieces by Flann O'Brien.

So for the cost and space of a fat 1200 page book, I only get about 600 pages of stuff I don't have already. If you've never bought any funny books before, this volume might be a good one to start with. But, if you own literature, it's likely that you have most of these works already.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good collection, but..., October 5, 2004

By 

Megan Knouff (Cincinnati, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Malcontents: The Best Bitter, Cynical, and Satirical Writing in the World (Hardcover)

For starters, I can't fault that there is indeed a vast amount of excellent literature in this book, including full editions of some shorter novels. While some of it is familiar, there's a good amount of obscure or hard-to-find inclusions.

On the other hand...there was almost too much familiar ground. I skipped over probably close to half of it for having already read it. While authors such as Voltaire and Wilde are almost necessary inclusions for a book with this title, why include their best-known books rather than throwing the spotlight onto some of their more obscure works? (Though I admit Jane Austen was certainly served well in that department.) Also, 20th-century authors are shamefully neglected (where on earth was James Thurber, who I personally would consider one of the best if not the best satirist of his time?).

Still, despite the uneven selection, this is overall not a bad collection, though I would use it more as a jumping-off point to authors.