false 763716 1565848748 9781565848740 11 5 Hatchet Jobs: Writings on Contemporary Fiction http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178142894m/763716.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/763716.Hatchet_Jobs_Writings_on_Contemporary_Fiction 20 Dale Peck 553 138 0 0 false Thu Feb 05 09:25:55 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 09:25:55 -0800 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 worst writer of his generation"?), most focus more on Peck's vulgarities than on the content of his critiques. Of the minority who confess that they looked twice at his reviews, many agree that they are entertaining, incisive, and worth all the hype.

This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.

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