Sunday, 13 October 2013

He Finally Got What He Wanted

Oh dear. I had heard that Morrissey was insisting that his imminent and much-delayed autobiography be published as a Penguin Classic, despite never having been published before and quite possibly not being a work for the ages, but I hadn't realised the had caved until a recent search of the imprint's forthcoming releases revealed this:



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.
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6 comments:

  1. Ed13 October 2013 at 18:59

    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.

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  2. amateur idler13 October 2013 at 22:07

    Jeez. I even like the Smiths and I find this a bit... weird.

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  3. JRSM13 October 2013 at 22:24

    That's the thing--I like the Smiths, and some of his solo stuff, but this is just weird.

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  4. Steerforth25 October 2013 at 08:45

    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.

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  5. JRSM27 October 2013 at 14:21

    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.

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  6. Ed28 October 2013 at 15:14

    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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