My name is Timothy Egan and I'm an egotistical jerk. I wrote five books and won the Pulitzer Prize.
What, you never heard of me? What's wrong with you? That's the Pulitzer Prize, man, the Pulitzer Prize!
Posted on 12/07/2008 2:15:28 PM PST by gridlock
The unlicensed pipe fitter known as Joe the Plumber is out with a book this month, just as the last seconds on his 15 minutes are slipping away. I have a question for Joe: Do you want me to fix your leaky toilet?
I didn’t think so.
(snip)
With a résumé full of failure, he now thinks he can join the profession of Mark Twain, George Orwell and Joan Didion.
Next up may be Sarah Palin, who is said to be worth nearly $7 million if she can place her thoughts between covers. Publishers: with all the grim news of layoffs and staff cuts at the venerable houses of American letters, can we set some ground rules for these hard times? Anyone who abuses the English language on such a regular basis should not be paid to put words in print.
(snip)
Our next president is a writer, which may do something to elevate standards in the book industry. The last time a true writer occupied the White House was a hundred years ago, with Teddy Roosevelt, who wrote 13 books before his 40th birthday.
Barack Obama’s first book, the memoir of a mixed-race man, is terrific. Outside of a few speeches, he will probably not write anything memorable until he’s out office, but I look forward to that presidential memoir.
(snip)
There was a time when I wanted to be like Sting, the singer, belting out, “Roxanne ...” I guess that’s why we have karaoke, for fantasy night. If only there was such a thing for failed plumbers, politicians or celebrities who think they can write.
Maureen Dowd is off today.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
He works with his hands? Unthinkable!
You can always count on Mart Twain to tell it like it is! LOL
My name is Timothy Egan and I'm an egotistical jerk. I wrote five books and won the Pulitzer Prize.
What, you never heard of me? What's wrong with you? That's the Pulitzer Prize, man, the Pulitzer Prize!
Timothy seems to think that it's difficult, perhaps it is for Timothy.
No doubt it upsets Timothy greatly that Joe the plumber gets a book deal while, at least in Timothy's mind, his great work(s) sits unwanted.
The three top reviews of Timothy Egan’s novel, “The Winemaker’s Daughter,” at Amazon:
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
Beware the Reviews, June 20, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: The Winemaker’s Daughter (Hardcover)
There was a lot of hype in the NYTimes about this book along with a great review. Now that I’ve read it, it seems to me it’s the good-old-boys network supporting one of their own. It realy is nothing more than a potboiler. So much of the story is disjointed - you are jarred going from one scene to another - where is the transition or even the rationale? No character is real - they merely behave how you would think they should. There is no real development and no poetry in the writing. It really seems like a non-fiction writer said “now I must write that novel.” Too bad really good books by completely unknown writers don’t get the big write-up from the Times. My book club prefers to read books they have “heard about” rather than try a new author who really has talent. So much for promoting new good writers rather than ensuring that the inner circle keeps earning their money so they can stick around and support their buddies. Corrupt that this book gets the big splash. )
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Two stars for effort. , March 24, 2004
By book worm “MEO” (Andover, MA USA) - See all my reviews
The setting and the premise are interesting but the story never develops. People and events are never connected. This book reads more like a rough draft than a finished story.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Even heros have flaws, July 15, 2005
By J. A Johnson “autumn sage” (Playa Vista, CA United States) - See all my reviews
Unfortunately, Timothy Egan seems to forget that in this novel. Among the issues I have with this novel, this is the biggest. His characters are perfect. The heroine is smart and sexy and physically fit and the top of her field. She speaks Italian with her father, has a taste for wine (not to be unexpected, given the subject matter), seems completely at home in the country or city and seems to be passionate about everything.
In other words, she’s boring.
I picked up this book because I was looking for a Northwest author writing about the Northwest. What I found was warmed over prose written by an author who is too full of himself. He’s in desperate need of a serious and skilled editor.
So, we have a "writing-class" now into which no one may enter without his approval?
Okay, I can’t speak to Joan Didion’s career, but I seem to recall quite clearly that Sam Clemens and Eric Blair did other stuff for a living before they became Mark Twain and George Orwell, world-famous authors.
Envy. As a member of the chattering classes, the author thinks he is entitled as a matter of course to a book deal more lucrative than Joe the Plumber got. Since he doesn’t have one, he has to sneer.
Wow! There's strong and there's Army strong. There's snotty and there's New York Times snotty.
I honestly cannot imagine such a snotty, dismissive line appearing in any British newspaper, the Guardian or the real (London) Times. This kind of writing is the product of sloppy groupthink, the kind of thing that puts your stock into a tailspin. Sorry, mista Egan, but maybe the reason the publishing industry is in such bad financial straights is because they (and their retail outlets) already embrace your principles.
I seem to forget, where were the snarky editorials in response to any of the Clintons' cumbersome literary efforts? Oh, I forgot, they're Democrats, and therefore literary, economic, political, military and mathematical geniuses. Reminds me of the scene in the movie, Das Boot, where the old U-Boot Kapitan hoists a toast to Germany, "Where else but in our great democracy could an ordinary paperhanger become a military and naval genius?"
Also Ronald Reagan. Who wrote some great and historic speeches during the 70's. I'm surprised that he didn't pimp the Kennedy meme, after all Obama had the same technique, hire a ghost writer.
Well at least when these Joe-the-Plumber and Sarah Palin books come out we can have a big government fire and burn them. Of course, it would be better to stop them before they ever saw the light of day. The verb “abort” comes to mind.
FMCDH(BITS)
The truth is literally ANYONE can write a book. Not just anyone can SELL their book!
No, really, Pat, it’s funny that you mentioned Matt Foley. It’s truly a shame Chris is no longer here to put on that costume, gather the Times staff in the city room and tell you that most of you suck at writing and ought to be eating government cheese and LIVING in a VAN down by the RIVER.
F*** the NYT. I hope they go bankrupt.
This guy, uh, you know, apparently, you know, uh, never heard, uh, obama ever try to answer, uh, a question he, you know, wasn’t ready for.
I like the one where he says something like, “its going to cost what we pay for it.” With a dozen or so “uhs” tossed in to give it some meat.
Now THAT would be a fine title for a novel.
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