Since the publication of "Hatchet Jobs," the groves of literary criticism have echoed with the clatter of steel on wood. From heated panels at Book...
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Dec 17, 2009
David
rated it: 
A nasty, boring book in which someone whose talent appears to have sputtered out years previously, attempted to gain some notoriety by taking a hatchet to the work of others.
Sour grapes much, Dale? At least Jonathan Franzen has some talent to back up his obnoxious public persona. With this author there's all the obnoxiousness and very little talent.
Sour grapes much, Dale? At least Jonathan Franzen has some talent to back up his obnoxious public persona. With this author there's all the obnoxiousness and very little talent.
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Feb 05, 2009
There is some truth to Peck's claim that his critics are more interested in "the possibility of a brawl" than in what he has to say about today's fiction. Reviewers say they can't fathom how the highly regarded author of the novel Now It's Time to Say Goodbye and What We Lost, the story of his father's 1950s childhood, has the audacity to vilify his colleagues. Although reviewers feel scandalized, disgusted, or fascinated by his sweeping condemnations (is Rick Moody really "the wo
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Dec 03, 2007
Conner H.
rated it: 
I'll never get the praise for Kurt Vonnegut or the diss on Ulysses - but besides that, this is a great book. The scandal surrounding it reminds us that many reviewers act as advertisements rather than critical and thoughtful assesments of literature. And also, David Foster Wallace probably SHOULD be fucked in the ass.
Mar 11, 2009
unnarrator
rated it: 
Don't read this and then try to write anything, ever.
The first piece is hilarious, a long-deserved crucifixion of the unconscionably boring Sven Birkerts; but then I stopped laughing when I hit the subsequent reviews, in which he CARVES INTO Wallace, Franzen, Moody, DeLillo, et al. Oh, and Joyce. And Faulkner.
Also, for someone who's so high and mighty about English syntax, he can at times write confusingly. There are oddly murky places in the prose, in sharp contras More...
Mar 08, 2010
I read this book because I dislike most contemporary literary fiction. So does this author. So I was hoping that I would learn more about why I hate most novels published within the last few years. Unfortunately these essays are mostly bitter, mean, and stupid, which is a shame, because many of them contain well-reasoned investigations of various authors.
The best essay was, to me, a sort of elegy for Kurt Vonnegut (which is strange, because he wasn't dead when this was published). More...
The best essay was, to me, a sort of elegy for Kurt Vonnegut (which is strange, because he wasn't dead when this was published). More...
Jul 03, 2011
Paul
rated it:
MY FAIRLY DULL 30 DAY FACEBOOK CHALLENGE
So if I was "on Facebook" as they say, I'd have done this. You have to name a book in these 30 categories. Here goes
Day 1: Favorite book
Bad start - there's no such animal. But let's say Ulysses.
Day 2: Least favorite book
Oh, I know this one - American Psycho.
Day 3: Book that makes you laugh out loud
The Innocent Anthropologist by Nigel Barley will do. Also Trainsp More...
So if I was "on Facebook" as they say, I'd have done this. You have to name a book in these 30 categories. Here goes
Day 1: Favorite book
Bad start - there's no such animal. But let's say Ulysses.
Day 2: Least favorite book
Oh, I know this one - American Psycho.
Day 3: Book that makes you laugh out loud
The Innocent Anthropologist by Nigel Barley will do. Also Trainsp More...
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Dec 09, 2011
Lobstergirl
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"It seems to me that there are two strains of literature currently in vogue - what I have referred to...as recherché postmodernism and recidivist realism - and both of them, in my opinion, suck," writes Dale Peck. "As one reads contemporary novelists, one can't shake the feeling that they write for one another rather than some more or less common reader. Their prose shares a showiness that speaks of solidarity and competition..." I certainly don't disagree with his conclus
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Dec 16, 2009
max
rated it:
While it's wrong to laud a critic merely for agreeing with me, that's what I'm going to do.
Peck doesn't really assert these points so much as posit them on his way to dismember his contemporaries, but since I find them excellent literary axioms, I'll repeat them:
-James Joyce's collection Dubliners--particularly the story "The Dead"--is one of the best in the prose fiction canon, but by Ulysses he is setting a pretty poor example.
-Thomas Pynchon is u More...
Peck doesn't really assert these points so much as posit them on his way to dismember his contemporaries, but since I find them excellent literary axioms, I'll repeat them:
-James Joyce's collection Dubliners--particularly the story "The Dead"--is one of the best in the prose fiction canon, but by Ulysses he is setting a pretty poor example.
-Thomas Pynchon is u More...
Feb 21, 2011
Dystopia
rated it:
Well, as my dad used to say, "If you can't say something mean and funny . . . then just say something mean." Dale Peck works that maxim all the way to the bitter end.
Nov 30, 2009
Brian
rated it:
An awful bunch of tantrums, written solely to garner the author some brief attention. I think he's writing teenage vampire sci-fi novels now, which, enough said.
Sep 02, 2008
Adam.sarvana
rated it: 
I just finished reading this for the second time. For people who pay attention, Peck made a huge name for himself a few years ago when he starting swinging like crazy at writers he thought were wasting their talent, including his infamous line about Rick Moody being "the worst writer of his generation." I like him because, like James Wood, he actually cares about what's going on with books, not just getting a paycheck for writing his essay. This is one of those collections that add up
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May 19, 2008
James
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Not only does Peck review books, providing criticism and analysis, but he criticizes critics and reviews book reviews.
Hehe.
He says nasty things about writers and reviewers. Tehe.
It's all very rousing and silly in an entertaining way. Plus it's short and small and fits in the front pocket of my brown corduroy jacket.
Hehe.
He says nasty things about writers and reviewers. Tehe.
It's all very rousing and silly in an entertaining way. Plus it's short and small and fits in the front pocket of my brown corduroy jacket.
Jul 18, 2008
Fritz
rated it:
Dale Peck has not really taught me anything about literature, but could write a damn monograph for OUP about the value of self-promoting bitchery. Bonus points: "David Foster Wallace, you can now sleep easy, because you have just been READ."
Jun 14, 2007
Katie
rated it:
I never really read lit crit or reviews but I find Dale Peck hilarious and often spot on. So hit me.
Jan 09, 2008
Jeff
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Loved it -- and now "Law of Enclosures" lies on my nightstand waiting its day of reckoning.
Dec 16, 2009
Rebecca
rated it:
i laughed out-loud throughout. it's the antidote to acclaimed and terrible contemporary writers.
Feb 01, 2012
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