Episode 1053: A Local Literary Dud

I suppose in any country's literary output, duds are inevitable. This short novel I tried reading today is so badly written though, I'm actually going back to Kinokuniya tomorrow to exchange it for something better. Not even going to dignify the author by naming him or the book, but I will say that it's shocking how the English language was mangled in the book. Either an editor never looked through his manuscript, or the editor was really incompetent, or the author was so arrogant as to disregard any editorial input. I mean, the prose is serviceable, but every so often, a phrase just sounds a discordant note that makes it hard to believe the author has worked as a journalist. Big words do not a good writer make. Hilariously, an Amazon review blasts the novel for precisely this reason, only to have the author retort that the reviewer is dishonest and has an axe to grind. Having read about 50 pages, I can safely say it's the author who's utterly deluded.