Trends

[LARSSON at VAX1.Mankato.MSUS.EDU]

D.forwards:
"Wry observers, however, attribute Mason &  
  Dixon's success to its unreadability. Melik
  Kaylan, a former editor at Spy magazine,
  describes the book as "a 1990s version of The
  Name of the Rose". He said: "New York's literary
  nomenklatura want to be seen carrying worthy
  books ... Umberto Eco served people's needs
  admirably in the last decade, what with the
  generous infusions of Latin in his text.
  Pynchon, too, is great for posing with ...
  perfect for women who spend their whole day
  draped languidly over a chair at the Museum of
  Modern Art's cafe with a book perched on their
  knees.""

Well, I suppose Twin Citians can be as trendy as the next city (althought
they are usually two years ahead or six months behind everyone else), 
but M&D is # 3 on the TC bestseller list.

Yes, it was a typicial example of journalistic snottiness, rather on
the order of those film reviewers who pretend to be "just folks" and
deride any movie with more ambition than TWISTER.

Don Larsson, Mankato State U (MN)