One dimensional crusaders for the common man  

Also by way of Slate, the WP's Gene Weingarten calls Robert Burrows's self-published novel Great American Parade the worst novel ever published in the English language. No big surprises - it turns out to be a clumsily didactic treatment of the Bush tax plan in the form of a novel. But what interested me about it was how it got reviewed in the Washington Post; after all, it was self-published, so it didn't have navigate the highly credible and authoritative editorial process we submit to when we play by the rules.

When I googled Mr Burrows's novel, there were dozens of hits, all from college papers that were tricked into reviewing the book when they got their free copy in the mail. Even the Indiana Daily Student (an old employer of mine) had a review. What I'm wondering is: can this really work? Apparently the author printed up 2000 copies and sent them to college campuses around the country, hoping to generate buzz from the ground up. In this case it failed, probably because the novel was no good, but maybe this is something to think about... if, for instance, the novel were published online, reviews in college campuses around the country could really get it going. I'll have to run out and tell all my novelist friends.