Mortification: Writers' Stories of Their Public Shame (Hardcover)

~ Robin Robertson (Author) "Mortifications never end..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Dana Plato, Alan Warner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Public humiliation, shame, acute embarrassment - how we love to witness these social nightmares happening to other people! And how much more entertaining it is when these occasions of buttock-clenching awfulness include alcoholic degradation, sexual incontinence and loss of bowel control, not to mention the dreadful prospect of a total lack of audience. In this thoroughly entertaining collection, Robin Robertson has somehow persuaded (coerced? bribed? blackmailed?), an astonishingly large number of writers and poets to share the secrets of their "public shame". These delicious morsels of schadenfreude range from the ignominy of the writer giving of his all to rows of empty plastic chairs, to the horror of Irvine Welsh's exploding underpants and Niall Griffiths' extremely inconvenient erection. Some will make you laugh, others will make you cringe, yet others will reduce you to cushion-biting sympathy. This collection is an inspiration, as well as a consolation to every writer who has thrown up in front of his single-figure audience, or cowered behind an unsold pile of books in Waterstone's. Robertson has tapped a well that will, inevitably, never run dry. For while there are poets and writers prepared to bare their souls on the public stage for the price of a cheese toastie and a few glasses of Rioja, there will be mortifications a-plenty. Read, laugh and enjoy, but remember to salute the courage of these brave souls who have shared their darkest moments, and are probably, even now, bitterly regretting it. (Kirkus UK) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Entertaining reading. This is a jolly romp and will make a good stocking-filler for any authors of your acquaintance." (Sunday Times (London) )

"As simple as Schott's Original Miscellany and equally effective." (Literary Review )

"Robertson keeps the atmosphere light throughout, tagging delightful epigraphs onto every reminiscence." (Philadelphia Inquirer )

"Full of the most achingly funny, endearing accounts of total humiliation." (Daily Mail (London) )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Fourth Estate (March 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007170580
• ISBN-13: 978-0007170586
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,385,142 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poets Drink A Lot, May 25, 2004

By	Robert Derenthal "bucherwurm" (California United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This is an interesting and funny compendium of accounts by fiction and poetry writers who detail their humiliating experiences as authors. After reading the book one wonders at the lengths to which novelists or poets are willing to go to promote their books.

There seem to be two main events that cause the mortification of novelists and poets:

1. Book readings. The worst possible thing that can happen at a reading is that nobody shows up for the reading. Or is it? How about when you are told that your book stunk. Or there is another author reading with you, and afterwards his book signing line stretches off toward the horizon while in front of you there is nothing but silent open space from here to the Andromeda galaxy.

I learned a curious thing about poets. Many of those represented in this book seem to have a drinking problem. Many recount experiences where they mounted the podium in a very inebriated condition, and surprisingly their drunkenness often isn't the humiliating problem. That they are besotted with drink doesn't seem to bother them in the least.

2. Media Interviews. The author typically arises at an early hour and is whisked off to a radio station for a 6AM interview. The interviewer typically has never heard of the author or his book, and has no interest in either. Questions posed are about what the author thought of his mother, or are generally of the "what is your favorite color" type of solicitation.

Some of these confessions of mortification are hilarious. One writer was put up for the night by an elderly couple who owned two very large, very hyperactive Boxer dogs. They continually leapt on him and the other guests throughout the evening, their enthusiasm being so great that they frequently lost control of their bladders. They prowled about under the dining table for the entire meal, and you can guess what all they got into there.

What mystified me most was that some of the contributors to the book seemed to have misunderstood the assignment. Their responses, in my opinion, had nothing to do with humbling experiences resulting from their trade of writing. The final episode, for instance, recounts the writer's experience being caught in the bathroom indulging in a certain solitary pleasure. Hmmm. A couple of respondents seemed to feel that this was a splendid opportunity to write some experimental literature.

All in all a fun read if you are a book lover, and are curious about the lives of those who write them. I am acquainted with about half the authors (such as Margaret Atwood, Carl Hiaasen, William Trevor, Paul Muldoon, Charles Simic, Billy Collins, and Margaret Drabble). The rest were new to me, but no less enjoyable.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Laugh till you cry, April 18, 2005

By	Mary Brown "writebrain" (Outside Chicago) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Just a couple clunkers in this fulfilling plane-ride read. Mostly Brit authors tout the other side of achieving (varying degrees of) literary fame. One of my favorites was the essay about the children's book writer, who'd read one book in her life.

Terrific gift for any writer, poet, publisher or editor (or wannabe) you know.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Light and Entertaining, April 4, 2004

By	Emery Csulak "ecsulak" (Alexandria, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

An enjoyable book to read one afternoon. Series of short experiences by a wide range of writers. The stories mix from the funny to the dull. However, the collection of writing styles is more interesting then some of the stories. The book provides a nice way to experience some authors and find some new favorites.