Title: More than gossip
Product review: This is great entertainment but Arthur also uses these anecdotes to illuminate his insights into the nature of literary reputations. Why do some bestsellers and Nobel prizewinners fade into oblivion within a generation? Why do some writers get to be taught in college? (One useful tip is that if you want academic immortality after you are dead you should not make your books too long).Like any anthology it omits some favorites. One of my favorites in the Nabokov-Wilson wars was an acrimonious exchange of letters in the British journal "New Statesman''They were arguing about whether or not Pushkin knew English. Nabokov said he did not. Wilson seemed to have won the battle by proving that he did know a few words. Nabokov wrote conceding the point and saying "Let us end by agreeing that Pushkin had about as much English as Mr. Wilson has Russian."
Would you say this review depicts the product in a flattering or unflattering light?
