introducing readers to writers since 1995
April 20, 2004
This Is a Headline for a Blog Item
About a Review of a New Book
by John Barth by Daniel Handler
by Ron Hogan
A book review which happens to give at least one of its readers immense pleasure.
Tactfully mention that Barth is in his 70s, spend a few quiet moments pondering own mortality and the faint hope of having any sort of literary career whatsoever in 70s, move quickly through guilty phase: How would I feel, in my 70s, if some young whippersnapper called my recent work "slackening?" Pace briefly around office. No, literary criticism must be honest or else meaningless!
Daniel Handler is pretty much the most popular writer ever to subject himself to Beatrice's questions, still drawing a couple hundred readers a week--though one suspects many of them are parents of Lemony Snicket fans who quickly hit the back button as soon as they read my subhead.
I really wish Handler would write another novel for adults. WATCH YOUR MOUTH has to be one of the oddest, most bizarre novels I have ever read--and I loved almost every minute of it. He takes a hell of a lot of risks in his writing, and while they don't always work, I'm always glad he tries.
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