Random House goes negative for Consumption ad
A few decades ago, novelist and literary pugilist Norman Mailer, the man Woody Allen once said would be donating his ego to Harvard Medical School, took out a full-page ad for his own novel Deer Park. Instead of the usual puffery, Mailer filled the ad with all of the nastiest quotes he could find from reviews of the book.
Though not quite in the same vituperative league, Random House’s ad for Kevin Patterson’s novel Consumption in last Saturday’s issue of the Globe and Mail book section did contain a rare flash of piss and vinegar. Along with the raves (including one from the Globe itself), there was a quote from the Winnipeg Free Press that read thus: “The Giller Prize jury, which did not include Consumption on its recently released long list, should be shot for dereliction of duty.”
Though Random includes a far less contentious quote from the Free Press on its website, there is word that the Giller jurists — Alice Munro, Adrienne Clarkson, and Michael Winter — have been moved to an undisclosed location for their own safety, just in case.
Related links:
See the web page for Kevin Patterson’s Consumption
Rumours swirl that the undisclosed location is One Toronto St.