The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature: The Collected Writings of Neal Pollack by Neal Pollack |
Alternadad: The True Story of One Family's Struggle to Raise a Cool Kid in America by Neal Pollack |
by Cormac McCarthy
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The Rock Snob's Dictionary: An Essential Lexicon of Rockological Knowledge by David Kamp |
by David Sedaris
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In his latest satiric bid for immortality (after The Neil Pollack Anthology of American Literature: The Collected Writings of Neal Pollack), humorist Pollack details the life of a famed rock critic named, predictably, Neal Pollack, and takes swipes at scores of legends along the way. Styled as a series of interviews by rival rock critic Paul St. Pierre, conducted after Pollack's untimely death, the novel charts the history of Neal, born Norbert Pollackovitz in 1941 Memphis, Tenn. Norbert's love for music is evident early on, and soon he and neighborhood pal Elvis Presley are making noise in town. When Elvis accidentally backs over Norbert's father with a truck, Norbert is on his own and is christened Neal Pollack by his pals; he soon flees town to discover the world. St. Pierre's progress in examining the life of the "grizzled monster" is slow until he visits Bob Dylan in Woodstock, N.Y. As Dylan tells it, he met Pollack in 1961, at Woody Guthrie's bedside. The incorrigible Pollack goes on to steal Joan Baez away from Dylan and then moves to Liverpool to become a star rock critic. By the mid-'70s, Pollack returns to Manhattan; Johnny Rotten, Iggy Pop, David Bowie and, later, Kurt Cobain make cameos. Saturated with original song lyrics and pop-up appearances by rock music's greatest legends, Pollack's novel has a swinging appeal. Not everyone will want to tune in for the author's manic tongue-in-cheek self-canonization-his kitchen-sink approach sometimes makes for garbled reading-but Spinal Tap fans and groupies everywhere will be delighted.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Billed as "a rock-'n'-roll novel"--"rock-'n'-roll-critic novel" is probably more accurate--Pollack's foray into fiction isn't that much of a leap from his fictitious essays written by his alter ego, the "Greatest Living American Writer," Neal Pollack (The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature, 2002). In his first novel, he tells the story of a late, great rock critic also named Neal Pollack. Pollack, the character, was a self-destructive, prescient, loose cannon of a critic (not unlike Lester Bangs) who was discovered by Sam Phillips in 1951, several years before he discovered Elvis Presley. In fact, Pollack was instrumental in getting Elvis to Sun studios for his first recordings (later he wrote about Elvis in 'zines) and, it turns out, in launching the careers of Dylan, the Stones, Iggy Pop, and Kurt Cobain. Iconoclastic, sometimes hilarious, and always mean-spirited, Pollack (the novelist) spares no one in his satirical jeremiad aimed at popular music and the critics who take it so seriously. Benjamin Segedin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
In his latest satiric bid for immortality (after The Neil Pollack Anthology of American Literature: The Collected Writings of Neal Pollack), humorist Pollack details the life of a famed rock critic named, predictably, Neal Pollack, and takes swipes at scores of legends along the way. Styled as a series of interviews by rival rock critic Paul St. Pierre, conducted after Pollack's untimely death, the novel charts the history of Neal, born Norbert Pollackovitz in 1941 Memphis, Tenn. Norbert's love for music is evident early on, and soon he and neighborhood pal Elvis Presley are making noise in town. When Elvis accidentally backs over Norbert's father with a truck, Norbert is on his own and is christened Neal Pollack by his pals; he soon flees town to discover the world. St. Pierre's progress in examining the life of the "grizzled monster" is slow until he visits Bob Dylan in Woodstock, N.Y. As Dylan tells it, he met Pollack in 1961, at Woody Guthrie's bedside. The incorrigible Pollack goes on to steal Joan Baez away from Dylan and then moves to Liverpool to become a star rock critic. By the mid-'70s, Pollack returns to Manhattan; Johnny Rotten, Iggy Pop, David Bowie and, later, Kurt Cobain make cameos. Saturated with original song lyrics and pop-up appearances by rock music's greatest legends, Pollack's novel has a swinging appeal. Not everyone will want to tune in for the author's manic tongue-in-cheek self-canonization-his kitchen-sink approach sometimes makes for garbled reading-but Spinal Tap fans and groupies everywhere will be delighted.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Booklist
Billed as "a rock-'n'-roll novel"--"rock-'n'-roll-critic novel" is probably more accurate--Pollack's foray into fiction isn't that much of a leap from his fictitious essays written by his alter ego, the "Greatest Living American Writer," Neal Pollack (The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature, 2002). In his first novel, he tells the story of a late, great rock critic also named Neal Pollack. Pollack, the character, was a self-destructive, prescient, loose cannon of a critic (not unlike Lester Bangs) who was discovered by Sam Phillips in 1951, several years before he discovered Elvis Presley. In fact, Pollack was instrumental in getting Elvis to Sun studios for his first recordings (later he wrote about Elvis in 'zines) and, it turns out, in launching the careers of Dylan, the Stones, Iggy Pop, and Kurt Cobain. Iconoclastic, sometimes hilarious, and always mean-spirited, Pollack (the novelist) spares no one in his satirical jeremiad aimed at popular music and the critics who take it so seriously. Benjamin Segedin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
See all Editorial Reviews
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First Sentence:
What a wonderful morning. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
putyour head, gasoline girl, greatest band, rock criticism, jenny jenny, rock critics Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Neal Pollack, New York, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Sam Phillips, Jerry Lee, New Jersey, Coney Island, Dee Dee, Woody Guthrie, Andy Warhol, Emmett O'Donnell, Clambone Jefferson, Elvis Presley, Black Flag, Dewey Phillips, Joan Baez, Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, Los Angeles, Velvet Underground, Cousin Brutus, John Sinclair, Amazing Frankenbooty, David Bowie New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
What a wonderful morning. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
putyour head, gasoline girl, greatest band, rock criticism, jenny jenny, rock critics Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Neal Pollack, New York, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Sam Phillips, Jerry Lee, New Jersey, Coney Island, Dee Dee, Woody Guthrie, Andy Warhol, Emmett O'Donnell, Clambone Jefferson, Elvis Presley, Black Flag, Dewey Phillips, Joan Baez, Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, Los Angeles, Velvet Underground, Cousin Brutus, John Sinclair, Amazing Frankenbooty, David Bowie New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 16
books:
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7
books
cite this book:
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- Rock and roll by J. Brent Bill in Back Matter
- United States of America (The Americas) by Brian Elliott in Front Matter
- Bound for Glory (Plume) by Woody Guthrie on page 70
- Sorrows of Young Werther: WITH Elective Affinities, Faust and Italian Journey (Everyman's Library classics) by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on page 43
- The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon on page 101
See all 16 books this book cites
- Never Mind the Pollacks: A Rock and Roll Novel by Neal Pollack on 58 pages
- The Best American Sex Writing 2004 by Daniel O'Connor in Back Matter
- A Friendly Game of Poker: 52 Takes on the Neighborhood Game by Jake Austen in Back Matter
- Food Court Druids, Cherohonkees and Other Creatures Unique to the Republic by Robert Lanham in Front Matter
- May Contain Nuts: A Very Loose Canon of American Humor by Michael J. Rosen in Back Matter
See all 7 books citing this book
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