GRGR: Todorov and Buchanan on the Holocaust

[Derek C. Maus]

On Fri, 24 Sep 1999, rj wrote:

> > So who has dismissed Todorov or his advocates, etc., etc.?

> Instead of addressing the whole post, which provided detailed context
> for the opening quote from the review, Mr Maus chose to divert
> discussion from the book to the "tone" of a few words from the review,
> though ambiguously even so, and by resorting to emotive rhetoric and
> sarcasm thereby ridiculed and belittled any such advocacy of Todorov's
> book that the reviewer or I were attempting to make.

I wholeheartedly beg the list for their forgiveness of the use of "emotive
rhetoric" and "sarcasm". I didn't realize this was verboten...oh, whoops,
my recourse to German might imply that I'm somehow sympathetic to Pat
Buchanan again. Damn, I guess I just can't help but show my true colors. 

I also apologize wholeheartedly for belittling rj's advocacy of a book
that neither he nor I have read. I've never known the list to take issue
with reviewers before and I simply don't know what came over me as I
dashed off these ad hominem attacks against the unassailably infallible
fortress of Australian literary criticism. I also apologize to Paul De Man
and Edward Said for any "emotive rhetoric" they have had to suffer by
those who share my sad condition. I'll be checking into the Richard Ford
clinic for irony deficiency as soon as I can book a flight.

> *My* intention was to draw attention to the book (as evidenced in the
> subject header I used), rather than the review. That the discussion got
> bogged down momentarily by a spurious attack on the Australian
> reviewer's tone is not down to me.

You are a sanctimonious little devil, aren't you? 

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