The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature: The Complete Neal Pollack Recordings Review
This is not post-grad humor, whatever that is (I'll tell you what it is, it's an oxymoron). This is not lacerating satire, nor a vicious attack on self-indulgent journalism, nor on Great White Authors (in whose company Neal Pollack rightly counts himself), nor--least of all is it this--is it a post-modern manifesto (post-modern??? think about how stupid you sound before you indulge your egotistical ear with literary jargon--you might start forgetting that words like "post" and "modern" have real meanings which, like nerds and prom queens, don't congeal when placed side by side)... nor is it anything else you people might come up with in the dark, lonely basements of your profound intellects!!!! Let the rest of the world (those lucky ignorant souls who've seen the sun within the past year) know the truth about Pollack: he's a pretty funny guy... at least he advocates onanism, which makes him totally legit in my eyes.
The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature: The Complete Neal Pollack Recordings Overview
Neal Pollack has been the Greatest Living American Writer across six decades, seven continents, and ten wives. He has won the Pulitzer Prize, the Booker Prize, the PEN/Faulkner Award (twice), and the Premio Simon Bolivar for contributions to the people's struggle in Latin America. In 1985, Pollack's writing was declared "beyond our meager standards" by the Swedish Academy
With the publication of The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature, the definitive collection of his work in English, a new generation of readers is set to discover nothing less than the ultimate meaning of human existence on earth. This astonishing work of fictitious nonfiction, the funniest and most creatively styled postmodernist confection of its time, has been universally praised as the best book ever written except for maybe Don Quixote and The Shipping News. The Anthology-now expanded, updated, and thoroughly repaginated -- answers, once and for all, the question that has plagued American society in general, and literary critics in particular, since Neal Pollack was born: "Who is Neal Pollack?" At last, we know.
The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature: The Complete Neal Pollack Recordings Specifications
It should come as no surprise that The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature is the inaugural title from McSweeney's Books, the publishing arm of Dave Eggers's literary quarterly McSweeney's. There appears to be two Neal Pollacks at work in the literary world. There's the legendary award-winning writer who has covered such global crises as the Spanish Civil War and 1999's "Battle in Seattle"; who has been married multiple times and romantically linked to Lara Flynn Boyle and Zadie Smith; and who counts Bishop Desmond Tutu and the Utah Jazz's Karl Malone among his closest friends. Then there's the real Neal Pollack, the young writer responsible for this comical tribute to the hard-drinking, fistfighting, wounded White Male egos behind the banged-up typewriters of first-person journalism. The high jinks begin in the table of contents, with such bloated chapter headings as "The Burden of Internet Celebrity" and "Why Am I So Handsome?"--hinting at what's to come. There's a detailed chronology included ("1959: Goes to Hollywood. Blacklisted.") and a nifty Zelig-like collection of photographs capturing Pollack (shirtless, more often than not, in his khaki photojournalist vest and aviator shades) yachting with J.F.K.; posing with a mud-caked platoon in Vietnam; and tuxedoed, escorting Mia Farrow to Truman Capote's Black and White Ball. Highlights include a transcript of Pollack's surprise appearance during a 1996 taping of Oprah's "other favorite author," Toni Morrison, where he offers this nugget to readers: "Oprah expanded my readership like no television program ever; not even my brief stint on Laugh-In gave me such wide exposure to Ma and Pa United States." Despite the one-joke tone of this slim volume, Pollack's clever wit prevails throughout, leaving a highly entertaining satire in its wake. --Brad Thomas Parsons
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Customer Reviews
A one joke non-literary work . . . - Penny Duff - St. Petersburg, Florida
Like a poorly written sitcom, Pollack has one joke: his exceptional being, together with hyperbole which supports his one joke. The writing is sophomoric at best, tedious at worst. I was appalled that a publisher would put out such drivel. I won't even give this away. This set has been placed--appropriately--in the proverbial circular file. Unless you enjoy his brand of humor (self-aggrandizement carried beyond the extreme), save your money.
Hutzpah... Pah!! - Ms. Ralph Onion - Austin, Texas USA
Pollack proves that the only thing necessary to be an artist in this society is the audacity to call oneself such. I've slogged through a couple of his self-indulgent works now, and from what I can see, he's an author because he says so. Unfortunately he's not alone; the people with egos big enough to believe they are something are granted celebrity or at least book contracts just because they have the hutzpah to tell the world what every person's mama made him or her believe for a while: I'm special. Most people grow up and realize that everyone is special but nobody's really THAT special. Pollack seems to still believe that he is not one of the very folk he attempts so weakly to satirize, a pompous bag of air who should be penalized for every tree that dies in the service of his vanity. He's an average writer with average opinions and really should take a breath and realize he's OK without being "special." Then he should give the reading public a break and get a real job.
Good Comedy, Not a Good Book - Devoted Reader - Suburban New York City
If you read enough books, especially enough books of a certain sort, and enough literary criticisum, again of a certain sort, you end up with a trove of amusing observations. If you put all of your observations together in a book, though, and your readers have read many of the same sources you have, their observations may be funnier than yours. So, after a while, your book becomes very, very tedious.
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