http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/29/books/review/29keillor.html “There’s no reason for it to exist in
English”: Garrison Keillor is very unhappy with Bernard-Henri
Lévy’s survey of America. One complaint seems to be that
Lévy (who comes across as quite sensible in his Salon
interview) has focussed on the outlandish, extreme, supersized
aspects of America: “You meet Sharon Stone and John Kerry and a
woman who once weighed 488 pounds and an obese couple carrying rifles,
but there’s nobody here whom you recognize. In more than 300
pages, nobody tells a joke. Nobody does much work. Nobody sits and eats and
enjoys their food.”
(I don’t think this is terrifically meaningful
complaint—travellers fixate on what’s
different, not what’s similar. It’s not the
sensibly-sized drink portions you write home about, it’s the
really really big ones.)
In reponse, Lévy’s basically accuses Keillor of being a
Francophobe; in his review, Keillor says, “as always with
French writers, Lévy is short of facts, long on
conclusions,” though this comes just after he complains about
Lévy’s sweeping “as alwayses,” so it’s
probably a joke.
Update 3rd Feb: added Lévy’s reponse,
softened Keillor criticism. 13:46
Delicious tags:
books
The Last Ditch (lastditch.typepad.com):
… interests - when confronted with all this, can do nothing but repeat, like mindless machines: ‘blame the United States!’ This is a great book. BHL is no de Tocqueville, but I commend it to you. For a less friendly review, you might like to readthis one, by Garrison Keillor, who - missing the point as comprehensively as I miss the point of his humour - concludes petulantly; Thanks for coming. Don't let the door hit you on the way out. For your next book, tell us about those riots in France, the cars …
alt 64 (alt64.wordpress.com):
… of the majority,” explores what Europe and America have to learn from each other, and interprets what he sees with a novelist’s eye and a philosopher’s depth. Otras reseñas son, en cambio, fueron menos benignas como la del New York Times (Garrison Keillor) que muestra gran irritación frente al libro: “Any American with a big urge to write a book explaining France to the French should read this book first, to get a sense of the hazards involved. Bernard-Henri Lévy is a French writer with a …
Ambactos (ambactos.wordpress.com):
… tyranny of the majority,” explores what Europe and America have to learn from each other, and interprets what he sees with a novelist’s eye and a philosopher’s depth. Otras reseñas, en cambio, fueron menos benignas como la del New York Times (Garrison Keillor) que muestra gran irritación frente al libro: “Any American with a big urge to write a book explaining France to the French should read this book first, to get a sense of the hazards involved. Bernard-Henri Lévy is a French writer with a …
Det Progressiva USA (www.usablogg.org):
… Nyligen skrev den välkände Bernard-Henri Lévy, en bona fide fransk intellektuellAmerican Vertigo: Traveling America in the Footsteps of Tocquevillesom blev rätt omskriven trots att det var ett beställningsarbete av The Atlantic Magazine. En riktigt underhållande bok. Helt olik de torra och rätt tråkiga svenska försöken att förklara USA i bokform. …
Det Progressiva USA (www.usablogg.org):
… USA och dess statsskick och ger landet legitimitet. Och om man kan få en av de malliga och självupptagna fransmännen att göra det så smäller det extra högt. Nyligen skrev den välkände Bernard-Henri Lévy, en bona fide fransk intellektuellAmerican Vertigo: Traveling America in the Footsteps of Tocquevillesom blev rätt omskriven trots att det var ett beställningsarbete av The Atlantic Magazine. En riktigt underhållande bok. Helt olik de torra och rätt tråkiga svenska försöken att förklara USA i bokform. …
SBS U.S. History, 2007-08 (sbsushistory.blogspot.com):
… retraced Tocqueville's steps and wrote a kind of 21st-century version of Democracy in America. It is titled American Vertigo: Traveling America in the Footsteps of Tocqueville, and it is a fascinating read. Read a review of the book here andhere. You can take a virtual tour of Tocqueville's trip here. Read about Tocqueville's life here, get the context of his visit by reading this, and view his itinerary. Now you are ready to complete the assignment (type your answers and turn in a hard copy …
RGJ Books (www.rgj.com):
… 1) To figure out if you want the book. 2) To find out what's in the book without having to read it (nonfiction in particular). 3) To savor a writer savaging a fellow writer, as when Updike lanced Wolfe,Garrison Keillor skewered Bernard-Henri Lévyand Joe Queenan made fun of Joe Esterhaus . Notorious book reviewer Dale Peck complained, petulantly, about just about everybody. Recently, I've been reading the book reviews in Entertainment Weekly, particularly those by Jennifer Reese, who also …
ambactos (emissary.typepad.com):
… of the majority,” explores what Europe and America have to learn from each other, and interprets what he sees with a novelist’s eye and a philosopher’s depth. Otras reseñas son, en cambio, fueron menos benignas como la del New York Times (Garrison Keillor …
valerio sur gayattitude.com (blog.valerio.gayattitude.com):
… l'express livres finalement moins servilement obséquieux que le Monde des Livres - BHL : L’homme qui prétendait conquérir l’Amérique à coups de cocktails avec des éléments biographiques croustillants -NY Times- BERNARD-HENRI LEVY: A French Imposter où l'on voit que les Américains ne sont pas si bêtes qu'on voudrait le faire croire. Non, vraiment, lisez plutôt Tocqueville, c plus d'actualité. Et, déjà... …
