Three highly acclaimed volumes are gathered together for the first time with many new nasty reviews and ridiculous rejections of great authors and classic books.
A few years ago, Pushcart Press issued a series of three books: Rotten Reviews and Rotten Reviews II, edited by Bill Henderson, and Rotten Rejections, edited by André Bernard. All three volumes were hugely popular and Rotten Reviews spent some time on a national bestseller list. Now these hundreds of scathing comments are collected in one edition that will delight readers and offer solace to writers who have endured similar reviews and rejections. For example: Jane Austen was reviewed as a "husband-hunting butterfly." John Barth's early fiction was called "a real recoil." Alice in Wonderland was greeted with "a stiff overwrought story." Reviews of Moby-Dick cited Melville for "tragic-comic bubble and squeak." Classic rejection slips were delivered to John Le Carré's The Spy That Came In from the Cold: "You're welcome to Le Carré he hasn't got any future," and Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita: "I recommend that it be buried under a stone for a thousand years," plus many more. "A welcome bit of fun."—Philadelphia Inquirer IllustratedBook Description
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Editorial Reviews
Review
A welcome bit of fun. -- Philadelphia Inquirer
Disrespectful to publishers. -- Anonymous publishing executive
Disrespectful to publishers. -- Anonymous publishing executive
About the Author
André Bernard is the trade publisher of Harcourt, a regular columnist for The American Scholar, and the author of Now All We Need Is a Title.
Bill Henderson is the founder and editor of the Pushcart Prize. He received the 2006 National Book Critic Circle’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Poets & Writers / Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award. He is also the author of several memoirs, including All My Dogs: A Life. The founder of the Lead Pencil Club, Henderson lives in New York.
Bill Henderson is the founder and editor of the Pushcart Prize. He received the 2006 National Book Critic Circle’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Poets & Writers / Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award. He is also the author of several memoirs, including All My Dogs: A Life. The founder of the Lead Pencil Club, Henderson lives in New York.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just the book for frustrated writers!,
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This review is from: Pushcart's Complete Rotten Reviews and Rejections: A History of Insult, A Solace to Writers (Revised & Expanded) (Paperback)
This is clearly an update of "Rotten Rejections, The Letters That Publishers Wish They'd Never Sent", and it looks like much better value than the original, which was only 101 pages and cost me NZ$19.95. The original was both entertaining and a great tool to help keep a frustrated writer going in the face of nothing but rejections. A must-have for you if you fall into this category.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Rotten It's Not,
By Catherine Wald "writerwald" (Westchester County, NY or www.writerwald.com) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Pushcart's Complete Rotten Reviews and Rejections: A History of Insult, A Solace to Writers (Revised & Expanded) (Paperback)
T.S. Eliot's work: flapdoodle? Ralph Waldo Emerson: a toothless baboon? Dylan Thomas: a pernicious figure? Bernard Malamud: superficial and unconvincing? Viriginia Woolf: dull? Yes, according to the critics and publishers quoted in this wonderfully comforting book. Isn't it nice that history -- and readers -- proved them all wrong?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Don't pay any attention to the critics--don't even ignore them! "..Samuel Goldwyn,
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This review is from: Pushcart's Complete Rotten Reviews and Rejections: A History of Insult, A Solace to Writers (Revised & Expanded) (Paperback)
A fun little book.Whether you're talking about books,movies,plays,art,music or anything else, there have been critics all through the ages who have made comments and assessments that time has proven to be totally off the mark.
In this little book, the reviews cited have come from the literary establishment;the writers about one another,publishers, and others such as professional reviewers from papers,journals and magazines. As you go through this book you will find numerous books that hasve been the most successful;but "important" reviewers have missed completely their importance. The only plausable explanation has to be that their judgement was blinded by jealousy , deeply seated haterd and in some cases ,stupidity must be considered. However;the whole world of reviews has now changed--thank God. All through the ages ,what the ordinary reader thought about a book was never heard. With the introduction of Customer Reviews by Amazon; now the voices of the readers themselves can be heard. I have never been too much of a fan of editorial reviews for the simple reason that they tend to be too slanted towards the literary establishment.What is there to say that their opinion is any better than anyone elses;just because they are appointed and/or paid? With Customer Reviews ,a whole world has opened up.I read many of them.There is usually something worthwhile in any of them.Some are simply excellent,and yes,some are pretty bad. But, then again,it's their opinion. Forget about many of the things that have been written about the changes in books and the impact of the Internet;Amazon's introduction of Customer Reviews has to be one of the best,if not the best,thing that has come out of it all. In the words of that great present day purveyor of rant and wisdom,Dennis Miller; "Of course,that's my opinion.I could be wrong." "A book is a mirror;if an ape looks into it,an apostle is unlikely to look out." Georg Lichtenberg (1742-1799).
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