Commentary Magazine


Literary Blog

The Tax Criticism Pays on Publicity

“Resounding praise for the ordinary fictional article of commerce is so much the order of the day that when a novel appears which truly demands praise, the task of reviewing it presents special difficulty. Words worn threadbare in the service of mediocrity look appallingly perfunctory when returned to their intended uses.” — Dorothea Brande opening a review of Caroline Gordon’s None Shall Look Back in the American Review (February 1937)

Introducing Commentary Complete

One Response to “The Tax Criticism Pays on Publicity”

  1. This comment stuns us with exquisite force in its brave humanness, its raw, soaring and, most of all, wise, gut-wrenching sinewyness, which leads us to laugh in life-affirming recognition of the foibles of pitiable humanity. A good read!

Leave a Reply