Public spurns novel about man who wants to kill President Bush

[Nambe]

WorldNow and WMTW

Nicholson Baker's "Checkpoint" -- about a man who wants to kill the president -- has sold fewer than six-thousand-500 copies of a 60-thousand first-printing.Reviews have been scathing.The New York Times called it "another discouraging document of this age of wild talk." A critic for the San Jose Mercury News admits falling asleep twice while reading it.Baker can't blame a lack of publicity. ..
Ride Don’t Drive * * It’s Global Cool

[bluestateguy]

1. There is a simple reason why

People who buy that book can and will be tracked under the USA Patriot Act. Buying that book is just about the stupidist thing someone can do in the times that we live in.

[janx]

2. The world is NOT all about politics--

Unfortunately, the National Endowment for the Arts has found that very few people are reading literature. They are only reading pop fiction or pop political books.

[Wickerman]

3. I wish someone besides Baker had written it

the man is pretty much a one trick pony. His trick of the trade is sensationalism. Writes "ground-breaking" novels that are always "unique" in voice or time sequence. What they never are are interesting or well-written. He also specializes in "shocking" and borders on "sleaze". VOX was the novel that brought him fame - and it was an hour, maybe two read, and you were left with a real nothing feeling - except you'd like that hour+ back...

[krkaufman]

4. Ummm... it could also be that most people recognize...

... that the book would suck. Why read a book for what one's imagination already ...

[shrike]

5. Maybe it's a bad book

There must be a reason why the critic fell asleep twice reading it.

[DavidDvorkin]

6. The public spurns most novels

Most of the novels published in any year are spurned. Some of them are bad, some of them are good. (Take it from one who knows.)