Fire the Bastards!
Encyclopedia
Fire the Bastards! was written by Jack Green
and published in his magazine newspaper in 1962. It was an acerbic critique of the book review
ing industry.
Green examined the initial 55 reviews that appeared in response to the publication of William Gaddis
's masterpiece The Recognitions
. He discovered that some reviewers either did not read or finish the work. Almost half of the reviews contained factual errors. Many employed the same clichés: "too difficult", "too long", "too negative", "ambitious", "a promising first novel." In one case he found that a critic had purloined part of his review from another review.
Fire the Bastards! appeared in book form in 1992 The publishers did not have the permission of the author to print the text. As the work had never been copyrighted, however, it was in the public domain and no permission was required for publication.
Jack Green (critic)
jack green is the pseudonym for Christopher Carlisle Reid , a literary critic who was a great defender of the work of William Gaddis. Reid—who took the name from a racing form after he quit his job to become a freelance critic—particularly admired Gaddis' 1955 novel The Recognitions, which...
and published in his magazine newspaper in 1962. It was an acerbic critique of the book review
Review
A review is an evaluation of a publication, a product or a service, such as a movie , video game, musical composition , book ; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theater show or dance show...
ing industry.
Green examined the initial 55 reviews that appeared in response to the publication of William Gaddis
William Gaddis
William Thomas Gaddis, Jr. was an American novelist. He wrote five novels, two of which won National Book Awards and one of which, The Recognitions , was chosen as one of TIME magazine's 100 best novels from 1923 to 2005...
's masterpiece The Recognitions
The Recognitions
The Recognitions, published in 1955, is American author William Gaddis's first novel. The novel was poorly received initially, but Gaddis's reputation grew, twenty years later, with the publication of his second novel J R , and The Recognitions received belated fame as a masterpiece of American...
. He discovered that some reviewers either did not read or finish the work. Almost half of the reviews contained factual errors. Many employed the same clichés: "too difficult", "too long", "too negative", "ambitious", "a promising first novel." In one case he found that a critic had purloined part of his review from another review.
Fire the Bastards! appeared in book form in 1992 The publishers did not have the permission of the author to print the text. As the work had never been copyrighted, however, it was in the public domain and no permission was required for publication.