The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature: The Collected Writings of Neal Pollack

Neal Pollack has written a splendid, hilarious, and badly needed parody of self-centered white male authors. His targets range from credible authors such as Gore Vidal and Hemmingway, to more minute members of the species such as Sebastian Junger. And while Pollack may not be aware of it, he has splendidly managed to ridicule the hubris, egotism, and total lack of talent of more obscure "all about me" writers such as Thomas Beller.Many critics have argued that Pollack's joke was too narrow to warrant the number of pages contained in this modest sized volume. While it is true that some of the parodies are not as funny as others, the book remains, diverse, interesting, and consistently funny. In "The Albania of My Existence", Pollack (clearly imitating Sebastian Junger) discusses what war torn Albania means to his identity and his accomplishments. In "I Am Friends with a Working Class Black Woman" he mirrors countless White guys who believe they are cool enough to understand and to be accepted by poor black people. In "It is Easy to Take a Love in Cuba", Pollack... well, you get the idea. This book is hilarious. It strips egotistical, White male authors and puts them on display. There is no reason why we can't enjoy the writing of some of those authors and also enjoy the skillful manner in which Pollack roasts them.

Full disclosure: I have known Neal Pollack since I discovered him making sweet, beautiful love with my girlfriend (now my ex-wife) in 1964. I didn't mind, however, because Pollack's superior technique gave me the opportunity to take notes that I later used to great effect.Pollack is the greatest American man of letters since Gore Vidal and, I believe, much more butch than Gore, which is a mark in his favor. This collection reprises some of his greatest work, though I'm disappointed Neal left out his classic, "How I Fixed The Belmont Stakes," which many of you may remember from Women's Wear Daily in 1947. Bravo, Neal! I could not recommend this anthology more highly.

Neal Pollack is a genius with the pen. Nothing is too pure to molest, nothing is too sick to reveal. Mr. Pollack is a legend in his own time and is quite deserving of your attention and respect. You should do what you can to form a cult and sacrifice yourself immediately after his next tour. No, don't do that. You must stick around and buy multiple copies of every book he writes. When he dies, we must pick up the pen and create new works under his name for the masses. Special cloaks will have to be made. Incense will have to be purchased. Colorful translucent plastic sandals will be fashioned. We shall overcome. Dance my beautiful shadow, dance.

im not in the book-selling biz, but The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature is the funniest f-ing thing ive read since `Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" twenty years ago. Its a spinal tap for modern lit. It begins with this introduction:"Recently, as I entertained a variety of friends and acquaintances (many of whom are employed in publishing and the arts), at my modest yet comfortable summer estate in Malta, it occurred to me that I am almost definitely the greatest writer of my time. I strained to think of others who could challenge my position, but they were too provincial,too tweedy, or too dead. No. I towered above the corroded wreckage that is American letters."he exquisitely violates every level of literary sense - his leads are so bad theyre classic, his metaphors so tired they "glisten like a glistening jewel" -- this book not only makes me howl when i see vanity fair, or gore vidal, or norman mailer or oliver stone, or a couple of local friends anymore, it makes me nervous about including myself in my own writing - and best of all if one were to strip the style convention from the 'tome' the stories are roaringly ridiculous - this book accomplishes everything bret easton ellis tries to do - without all the posing

This is undoubtedly one of the most unusual books I've ever read, and I've read some weird stuff. "Pollack" is a very funny book, although it's not without its flaws. All the stories have the same theme, how he is the "greatest American writer of our time." From "The Albania of my Existence" to "Secrets of the Mystery Jew" all his pieces begin with seemingly legitimate topics and eventually degenerate into patting himself on the back for being so talented and handsome. This aside it is an excellent book, "Pollack" contains the kind of over the top humor used by such writers as Woody Allen. While it may take only an afternoon to read, it'll be a well-spent afternoon.