Friday, October 29, 2004

The McSweeney's Saga: Appropriation

CHAPTER SIX.

The final element in the Dave Eggers bag of tricks was his D-I-Y pose. Wasn't that what he sold from the beginning? He borrowed his independent attitude from the zeen scene of the 90s.

Backed by Simon & Schuster, Eggers represented change from above; an attempt by the System to co-opt the stylings and motifs of the authentic happenings of underground literature.

It may have been Eggers's shrewdest move. It would fool many people, and give David the title of "The Pat Boone of Literature."

(To be continued.)

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