This seems pretty shoddy. Still, at least the previous inclusion of Allen Ginsberg and Ayn Rand in the Classics catalogue had already meant my abandoning my attempts to collect the whole line.
UPDATE: I see I'm not the only one dismayed by this, though unlike the writer of that piece, I would be pretty fucking angry to see the none-more-overrated Bob Dylan added to the Classics list too.
6 comments:
I had to use Google to find out who this Morrisey person is. I am also unimpressed by Penguin succumbing to this self important twit.
Jeez. I even like the Smiths and I find this a bit... weird.
That's the thing--I like the Smiths, and some of his solo stuff, but this is just weird.
I agree about Ayn Rand. The definition of a 'classic' seems to be a lot looser than it was.
As a Smith's fan, I can't help feeling more amused than dismayed. But I hope that it's a one-off, rather than an invitation to every self-important entertainer to follow suit.
I can't stand Bob Dylan either.
I'm a Smiths fan too--it could have been worse; at least they didn't put Axl Rose in Classics livery. But the packaging has put me off reading it a bit, as I don't want to encourage this sort of behaviour. (That said, reports from those who have read it seem to be: the first third (childhood) is great, the second third (Smiths) is bitter and annoying, and the final third (solo years tour diary) is boring.)
Bob Dylan: aaarrrgh! I'm always annoyed by the people who bet on him eac hyear to win the Literature Nobel. That would be worse even than Murakami getting it.
As a non-fan, I would say that this creates a precedent. What is to stop say David Cameron or Barack Obama making a similar demand in future when they decide to publish their memoirs. After all Panguin Classics does publish the autobiography of one past US president (Ulysses S Grant). It is only a matter of time when someone with a similar ego makes a similar demand, and hopefully Penguin does not cave in next time.
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