When is vol 2 due? 


On Feb 16, 2012, at 7:09 PM, [log in to unmask] wrote:

>> Why did many readers/ reviewers find it dull, or disappointing?  What 
>> should we make of that phenomenon?  In particular, and on the other hand, 
>> what should we make of the sheer amount of negative response to MT seen in 
>> many reviews?  There is a surprising amount of NEGATIVE criticism of MT's 
>> meandering memories.... something we are not always used to with the King.
> 
> Actually, I wasn't surprised that people found it disappointing; I was more 
> surprised that so many did not. I would guess that when most people see the 
> word "autobiography" they expect a more or less chronological account of a 
> famous person's life, and as a result the stream-of-consciousness structure 
> probably put a number of readers off, though not as many as I had assumed, 
> certainly. I suspect that Charles Neider's edition of the autobiography will 
> be the one that most general readers prefer in the long run, since it's the 
> only one that conforms to the traditional structure.
> 
> What struck me about the reviews I saw was not the idea that much of the 
> book had already appeared in print, but the almost universal impulse to 
> point out the high percentage of "extraneous" material -- the introduction, 
> the early attempts, the extensive notes. The general claim, often made with 
> something like amusement, was that the actual autobiography made up only 
> one-third of the book. That, I think, is an example of what can occur in 
> "encounters between the popular press & reading public," and not too 
> surprising.
> 
> I think every review I saw also mentioned the very small type, and I had 
> similar thoughts until that was cleared up right here on the forum not long 
> ago, when we learned that it was 10-point, a normal size. The problem was 
> that the typeFACE just looks smaller than others, and I think that choice 
> might not have been the best.
> 
> Despite these complaints from reviewers, though, the book sold in very high 
> (and unexpected) numbers, so I wouldn't think the review had much of an 
> effect in that regard. I was shocked by the extraordinary sales figures 
> myself. I hope its success is a reflection of Twain's continuing hold on the 
> public imagination. There aren't many authors who can "publish" runaway 
> best-sellers 100 years after their death.
> 
> -- Bob G.