Jonathan Littell's prix Goncourt-winning monstrosity, The Kindly Ones, elicited a ... wide variety of critical responses when it appeared in the US, many of them (very) negative (deservedly so -- it is not a good book).
Two Lines Press is now bringing out a smaller and very different collection authored by Littell, The Fata Morgana Books -- see their publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk -- and as part of their marketing strategy they've chosen to remind readers and booksellers of some of the less enthusiastic reactions to The Kindly Ones -- such as Ruth Franklin finding it: "one of the most repugnant books I have ever read". At The Washington Post's The Style Blog Ron Charles has a Q & A about the marketing of the book with TLP marketing manager (and Mr. Conversational Reading) Scott Esposito, Jonathan Littell's previous novel made critics want to vomit. What now ?
Given the strong reactions to Littell's previous book this seems like a viable approach. By acknowledging what's widely known anyway -- that opinions were split on the book, and tended to extremes -- they certainly gain some credibility for a rare bit of honesty in the industry (compare this approach to the usual very ... let's say: creative (to put it politely) blurbing of follow-up books, etc.). And if critics were passionate about a book, that's a selling point that's worth reminding folks of; it's certainly preferable to indifferent reactions.
Scott acknowledges some risks to the approach, but they seem to have struck the right balance, and he's right that this might also helps foster continuing engagement with both titles. (Coverage of the book should be up at the complete review, too, sometime later this month.)
Of course, the really brave marketing strategy would have been to dredge up Littell's first book, the notorious Bad Voltage, and bring that into the equation -- showing how truly ... versatile ? Littell is. Surely, it too deserves to be part of any dialogue about Littell's art.
And, of course, they could not have gone wrong by designing a cover in imitation of (homage to ?) either of the Bad Voltage editions (though, yes, I can see now that the emphasis on bad might seem a bit too front and center ...):
![Bad Voltage cover]()
![Bad Voltage cover]()
(Get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.)
Two Lines Press is now bringing out a smaller and very different collection authored by Littell, The Fata Morgana Books -- see their publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk -- and as part of their marketing strategy they've chosen to remind readers and booksellers of some of the less enthusiastic reactions to The Kindly Ones -- such as Ruth Franklin finding it: "one of the most repugnant books I have ever read". At The Washington Post's The Style Blog Ron Charles has a Q & A about the marketing of the book with TLP marketing manager (and Mr. Conversational Reading) Scott Esposito, Jonathan Littell's previous novel made critics want to vomit. What now ?
Given the strong reactions to Littell's previous book this seems like a viable approach. By acknowledging what's widely known anyway -- that opinions were split on the book, and tended to extremes -- they certainly gain some credibility for a rare bit of honesty in the industry (compare this approach to the usual very ... let's say: creative (to put it politely) blurbing of follow-up books, etc.). And if critics were passionate about a book, that's a selling point that's worth reminding folks of; it's certainly preferable to indifferent reactions.
Scott acknowledges some risks to the approach, but they seem to have struck the right balance, and he's right that this might also helps foster continuing engagement with both titles. (Coverage of the book should be up at the complete review, too, sometime later this month.)
Of course, the really brave marketing strategy would have been to dredge up Littell's first book, the notorious Bad Voltage, and bring that into the equation -- showing how truly ... versatile ? Littell is. Surely, it too deserves to be part of any dialogue about Littell's art.
And, of course, they could not have gone wrong by designing a cover in imitation of (homage to ?) either of the Bad Voltage editions (though, yes, I can see now that the emphasis on bad might seem a bit too front and center ...):
(Get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.)