Only Michiko Kakutani could use a word like “littérateur” with a straight face. (Novelist’s Crash Course on Terror.) This is a classic take-down, MK style. Would anyone else like to see Ms. Kakutani and Mr. Amis engaged in a swordfight? En garde!
Illustration of Michiko from Slate by Charlie Powell
Illustration of Michiko from Slate by Charlie Powell
4 comments:
I think Amis is having a laugh at the expense of people who would take his nonfiction seriously. So many people believe that if a book is fiction, it should be orderly and attractive, and if a book is nonfiction, it should be true and well-argued. Amis couldn't write an honest sentence if his life depended on it. That's because he's a novelist to the core. He doesn't use "nonfiction" to reveal the truth or arrange the facts. He would rather scandalize and enrage people. That's his job. Bravo. I feel embarrassed for people like Kakutani who don't understand how to behave around an Amis book.
Michiko—America's literary sweetheart.
Snark aside, as black and white as her opinions are, I find her only half as frustrating as Laura Miller.
The next time Michiko Kakutani pisses you off, just look her in the eye and say: "Margaret Seltzer."
Tee hee!
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