July 8th, 2009 / 1:48 pm
 Author News

I’ll tell you what you can do with your review, buddy

debottonAlain de Botton, sardonic author of How Proust Can Change Your Life and, more recently, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, positively flipped his shit when the NYT Book Review made some unglowing remarks about his latest book. The line “I will hate you until the day I die” was used. Take that, brainless critic! We need more hate in publishing, far as I’m concerned. Who wants to take a Louisville Slugger to James Frey? Anyone?

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33 Comments

  1. July 8th, 2009 / 6:39 pm Nathan (Nate) Tyree—

      But then my Bat would be soiled forever.

  2. July 8th, 2009 / 2:39 pm Nathan (Nate) Tyree—

      But then my Bat would be soiled forever.

  3. July 8th, 2009 / 2:57 pm Drew Toal—

      That’s true. Maybe we should just bludgeon him with colostomy bags.

  4. July 8th, 2009 / 7:22 pm ryan—

      finding out that frey is co-authoring a series of ya novels made me want to all fargo on him and his publisher

  5. July 8th, 2009 / 3:22 pm ryan—

      finding out that frey is co-authoring a series of ya novels made me want to all fargo on him and his publisher

  6. July 8th, 2009 / 7:27 pm Nathan (Nate) Tyree—

      Much better idea! Full colostomy bags

  7. July 8th, 2009 / 3:27 pm Nathan (Nate) Tyree—

      Much better idea! Full colostomy bags

  8. July 8th, 2009 / 7:35 pm Justin Taylor—

      It seems like that guy’s already taken his licks. He either needs to perpetrate a fresh outrage or else someone should untie him from the post. Anyway, YA novels sounds about right, and some sort of counterbalance to his over-the-top stream-of-blather style (ie a co-author) is probably what he’s always needed more than anything else. Maybe he’s finally found his place in the world.

  9. July 8th, 2009 / 3:35 pm Justin Taylor—

      It seems like that guy’s already taken his licks. He either needs to perpetrate a fresh outrage or else someone should untie him from the post. Anyway, YA novels sounds about right, and some sort of counterbalance to his over-the-top stream-of-blather style (ie a co-author) is probably what he’s always needed more than anything else. Maybe he’s finally found his place in the world.

  10. July 8th, 2009 / 8:13 pm pr—

      That review made me hate the book very much and I would never buy it because of the review. He makes the author out to be seriously condescending. Anyway, I have never understood condescencion to people with jobs- whatever job that may be. So, maybe I’d have no interest in the book, regardless. If some guy went on and on about his cookies job, I would probably be moved by his genuine caring attitude and – well, yeah.

  11. July 8th, 2009 / 4:13 pm pr—

      That review made me hate the book very much and I would never buy it because of the review. He makes the author out to be seriously condescending. Anyway, I have never understood condescencion to people with jobs- whatever job that may be. So, maybe I’d have no interest in the book, regardless. If some guy went on and on about his cookies job, I would probably be moved by his genuine caring attitude and – well, yeah.

  12. July 8th, 2009 / 8:27 pm Justin Taylor—

      Yeah, eff cookies. For real.

  13. July 8th, 2009 / 4:27 pm Justin Taylor—

      Yeah, eff cookies. For real.

  14. July 8th, 2009 / 5:37 pm Drew Toal—

      Biscuits guys. Biscuits.

  15. July 8th, 2009 / 10:10 pm pr—

      ““design director” of an international cookie company named Laurence “-
      I stand by my words!

  16. July 8th, 2009 / 6:10 pm pr—

      ““design director” of an international cookie company named Laurence “-
      I stand by my words!

  17. July 8th, 2009 / 10:35 pm pr—

      haha-that’s good.

  18. July 8th, 2009 / 6:35 pm Drew Toal—

      Okay okay. Let’s not start a holy war here. I’m just saying, no self-respecting lymey would call it a cookie.

  19. July 8th, 2009 / 6:35 pm pr—

      haha-that’s good.

  20. July 8th, 2009 / 6:40 pm Drew Toal—

      Actually, I read this book for work. It wasn’t that horrible. A prole by any other name…

  21. July 8th, 2009 / 10:46 pm pr—

      Really? So no -really- it wasn’t as horrible as Cain made it seem? And ” a prole”- ploetariat- right?- by any other name?- What do you mean by that? Is this some other Lymey whatever?

      It sounds godawful in the review. Maybe Cain picked out the offensive parts to be an ass? Shit happens.

      Speaking of mean -I just read Edmund White’s piece on Brodskey in Open City. Bitchtastic.

  22. July 8th, 2009 / 6:46 pm pr—

      Really? So no -really- it wasn’t as horrible as Cain made it seem? And ” a prole”- ploetariat- right?- by any other name?- What do you mean by that? Is this some other Lymey whatever?

      It sounds godawful in the review. Maybe Cain picked out the offensive parts to be an ass? Shit happens.

      Speaking of mean -I just read Edmund White’s piece on Brodskey in Open City. Bitchtastic.

  23. July 8th, 2009 / 6:55 pm Drew Toal—

      Yeah, I wasn’t reading and and thinking “Oh lord what an ass” the whole time. Some of it was quite interesting.

  24. July 9th, 2009 / 4:45 am Matthew Simmons—

      I still content that James Frey’s great crime was that he made Oprah’s audience care about fiction.

  25. July 9th, 2009 / 12:45 am Matthew Simmons—

      I still content that James Frey’s great crime was that he made Oprah’s audience care about fiction.

  26. July 9th, 2009 / 4:46 am Matthew Simmons—

      contend.

  27. July 9th, 2009 / 12:46 am Matthew Simmons—

      contend.

  28. July 9th, 2009 / 4:01 pm Alain de Botton—

      Hey Guys, Alain de Botton here. Just wanted to say that I appreciate your support on the bisquit/cookie/review issue. Also, do you like my hair in my press pic? Kind of feel like flipping my shit on my stylist as well, seeing as she seems to have shave a line down the middle of my fucking head the dummy. We shall see.

      -deB

  29. July 9th, 2009 / 12:01 pm Alain de Botton—

      Hey Guys, Alain de Botton here. Just wanted to say that I appreciate your support on the bisquit/cookie/review issue. Also, do you like my hair in my press pic? Kind of feel like flipping my shit on my stylist as well, seeing as she seems to have shave a line down the middle of my fucking head the dummy. We shall see.

      -deB

  30. July 9th, 2009 / 5:21 pm Drew—
  31. July 9th, 2009 / 1:21 pm Drew—
  32. July 10th, 2009 / 4:05 pm Damian—

      RE: James Frey and the Lousiville Slugger

      The goal of beating James Frey with a bat is not behavior modification for JF or punishment for him ( I think he’s an irremediable douchebad who seriously can’t write), but that we as writers get to experience the role of administering physical punishment. A need for a solid and public ass whupping is a terrible thing to waste

  33. July 10th, 2009 / 12:05 pm Damian—

      RE: James Frey and the Lousiville Slugger

      The goal of beating James Frey with a bat is not behavior modification for JF or punishment for him ( I think he’s an irremediable douchebad who seriously can’t write), but that we as writers get to experience the role of administering physical punishment. A need for a solid and public ass whupping is a terrible thing to waste