Famous Authors Who Were Not Fans of Other Famous Authors

Posted by Hayley on January 26, 2016


Have you ever felt like some famous writers are a little overrated? Well, you're in good company—other famous writers felt the same way (and were neither polite nor cautious about expressing it). Enjoy our favorite author-on-author insults below!


Pygmalion
by George Bernard Shaw

Not a fan: H.G. Wells
"An idiot child screaming in a hospital."


For Whom the Bell Tolls
by Ernest Hemingway

Not a fan: Vladimir Nabokov
"As to Hemingway, I read him for the first time in the early 'forties, something about bells, balls and bulls, and loathed it."


Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen

Not a fan: Mark Twain
"Every time I read Pride and Prejudice, I want to dig her up and hit her over the skull with her own shin-bone."


Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain

Not a fan: William Faulkner
"A hack writer who would not have been considered fourth rate in Europe, who tricked out a few of the old proven sure fire literary skeletons with sufficient local color to intrigue the superficial and the lazy."


Moby-Dick
by Herman Melville

Not a fan: D.H. Lawrence
"Nobody can be more clownish, more clumsy and sententiously in bad taste, than Herman Melville, even in a great book like Moby-Dick…. One wearies of the grand serieux. And that's Melville. Oh dear, when the solemn ass brays! brays! brays!"


Ulysses
by James Joyce

Not a fan: Virgina Woolf
"[Ulysses is] the work of a queasy undergraduate scratching his pimples."


Inferno
by Dante Alighieri

Not a fan: Friedrich Nietzsche
"A hyena that wrote poetry on tombs."


The Cantos
by Ezra Pound

Not a fan: Gertrude Stein
"A village explainer. Excellent if you were a village, but if you were not, not."


On the Road
by Jack Kerouac

Not a fan: Truman Capote
"That's not writing, that's typing."


The Old Man and the Sea
by Ernest Hemingway

Not a fan: William Faulkner
"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."


The Sound and the Fury
by William Faulkner

Not a fan: Ernest Hemingway
"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?"


Twilight
by Stephenie Meyer

Not a fan: Stephen King
"Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people…. The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good."



What's your favorite author-on-author insult? Tell us in the comments!


Comments Showing 1-50 of 218 (218 new)


message 1: by Sennett (new)

Sennett You can't even count on your colleagues for some moral support.


message 2: by DeeDee (new)

DeeDee 3kk i'm with Stephen King about Twilight
but Mark Twain about Jane Austen? why ?


message 3: by Ezgi (new)

Ezgi T Harsh.


message 4: by [deleted user] (new)

"[Ulysses is] the work of a queasy undergraduate scratching his pimples." Virgina Woolf

That's way too sharp for Woolf's level.

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." William Faulkner

And that's probably the most retarded thing I've ever seen after myself.


message 5: by Becky (new)

Becky I'm shocked about jane austen and mark twain. twain was a great writer, so was austen. wow...


message 6: by Himika (new)

Himika Chakraborty Mark Twain thought Pride and Prejudice was bad?!I'm shocked,too.


message 7: by Paula (new)

Paula I have nothing against Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen. But the way Twain worded his statement made me laugh hysterically.


message 8: by Teodora (new)

Teodora For Whom the Bell Tolls
by Ernest Hemingway

Not a fan: Vladimir Nabokov
"As to Hemingway, I read him for the first time in the early 'forties, something about bells, balls and bulls, and loathed it."

AMINNNNN!


message 9: by Kelley (new)

Kelley I thought Nabokov and Faulkner were spot-on about Hemingway. LOL!


message 10: by Inken (new)

Inken I tried to read Moby Dick once. It made me want to drive my car over a cliff. DH Lawrence was evidently a very smart man.


message 11: by Rishabh (new)

Rishabh DeeDee wrote: "i'm with Stephen King about Twilight
but Mark Twain about Jane Austen? why ?"


true deedee. I used to think why i hate twilight so much even before reading even a single word of it but couldn't come with a reason. and then i came across this quote from stephen king and it assured that i was and am right to hate the whole series and don't really need a reason


message 12: by Stefania (new)

Stefania Mihai Hemingway and Faulkner's mutual stabbing is hilarious! Like a bunch of school kids insulting each other!


message 13: by Hill (last edited Jan 26, 2016 08:19AM) (new)

Hill *Romance Newbie* Stephen King, you rock!


message 14: by Alexandra (new)

Alexandra The Hemingway - Faulkner conflict is delightful. And Stephen King nailed it.


message 15: by Aamina (new)

Aamina Wow all this quite harsh.


message 16: by James (last edited Jan 26, 2016 08:27AM) (new)

James Joyce Every time I come across that quote:

"Every time I read Pride and Prejudice, I want to dig her up and hit her over the skull with her own shin-bone."

I can only think... how many times did you read this book that you do not like?


message 17: by Rubi (new)

Rubi Well at the end, we and they are talking about personal preferences...
I only think, if I haven´t anything good to say, I prefer don´t say anything...
The bad reviews speak more of us than to the author


message 18: by Christopher (new)

Christopher Makes me want to dig up the feuding between Gore Vidal and Norman Mailer. Epic stuff. They truly hated each other.


message 19: by Rosita (new)

Rosita Stephen King is the real king xD


message 20: by Chill (last edited Jan 26, 2016 08:38AM) (new)

Chill To Jane Austen fans:
I never saw the appeal of her books. They're not bad, just not worth all the hype. I know I read Pride and Prejudice but I can't for the life of me remember a thing about it. It was just so bland. I am not a literary person and only read for my own enjoyment, but I remember reading Dante's inferno and being entertained, LOTR, Little Women, etc. But I was not entertained by Pride and Prejudice, have never since touched anything to do with it (movies, retellings, etc) and the only other Jane Austen book I've read is Sense and Sensibility which I also found to be forgettable. She just does not catch my interest with her writing. Bash me if you must, but this is one reason some people are not fans of Jane Austen.


message 21: by Hkwok (last edited Jan 26, 2016 08:44AM) (new)

Hkwok I think for some of those authors who are contemporaries, they may just dislike each other and took to the criticizing each others work as a result. But yea that Twain quote was kind of funny if a bit harsh.
I recall Jules Verne and HG Wells really didn't like each other, surprised that didn't make the list.


message 22: by Vicki (new)

Vicki My favorite is Stephen King on Stephenie Meyer. I couldn't get through the first page without having to put it down. I never picked it up again. Coming in second is Nabokov on Hemingway


message 23: by Gabriela (new)

Gabriela I'm with Mark Twain on Jane Austen. She's not very great.


message 24: by Sorobai (new)

Sorobai Usually the one criticizing deserves to the other. It is the influence syndrom. Except in contemporary authors. In that case they just can't accept that another so good writer as themselves stands around. Something to do with wolf packs and alpha male, etc.


message 25: by Tamina (new)

Tamina Russell I've read Huck finn so many times that I'm not really of the fan of the book anymore, but I think Mark Twain is great cause of Tom Sawyer.


message 26: by Alexandra (new)

Alexandra Sadly today *some* authors are attempting to enforce their *rule* that authors should never, ever express a negative opinion regarding another author's book.

It's a sad state of affairs I hope dies out rather than gaining anymore adherents.


message 27: by Michelle (new)

Michelle Formato I loved Faulkner and Hemingway's mutual hate for each other and i want to see if they said anything more about each other. I had to laugh out loud at Twain's comment on Pride and Prejudice; the book was just a basic love story where, in my personal opinion, none of the marriages in the book were actually healthy or based on love (INB4 Hate comments). And King's comment about Meyer were funny when I first heard them, but at this point we're just kicking a dead horse by mentioning anyone's hate with Twilight. It's not a good series, we've moved on.


message 28: by Nina (new)

Nina Truman Capote is my man, I never got the hype around On The Road but I would never describe the book so accurately.


message 29: by Monique (new)

Monique Gerke Fatou a crítica de Gertrude Stein a Aldous Huxley..


message 30: by Loretta (new)

Loretta Lee DeeDee wrote: "i'm with Stephen King about Twilight
but Mark Twain about Jane Austen? why ?"


I had to laugh at Twain's "Every time I read Pride and Prejudice..." Why on earth would he read it more than once if it was such a chore?!?


message 31: by Eli (new)

Eli Mark Twain is notoriously angsty, and I find it hilarious.


message 32: by [deleted user] (new)

The Stephen King quote about Twilight is in his book On Writing. The first time I read it I literally laughed out loud.


message 33: by Laura (new)

Laura  Elena I'm so with Stephen King in his opinion about Twilight, glad to know i'm not the only one who thinks that, even if a lot of people love Twilight I'm clueless as to their motive.


message 34: by Kira (new)

Kira Jeppesen Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner is like to kids arguing over who's dad is cooler.... :D

This was very funny, and a bit mean. I mean hitting Jane Austin with her own bone seems a little extreme... :D


message 35: by Abhishek (last edited Jan 26, 2016 10:04AM) (new)

Abhishek Dev Everytime I read William Faulkner I imagine him to be an angry old man with an inflated sense of self imporatnce and who has been blessed with wacky hair and crooked teeth a man who keeps on babbling on every topic but no one cares.


Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* DeeDee wrote: "i'm with Stephen King about Twilight
but Mark Twain about Jane Austen? why ?"


I heard before he didn't like her writing. I have to agree with him actually, I thought her writing style was terrible when I tried her. I know she is greatly loved by many readers, though not everyone will have chemistry with her stuff.

It seems like Hemingway and Faulkner had a little rivalry going on.

I remember when studying Edgar Allan Poe that he had a lot of rivalries as well, for he was incredibly honest and brutal with his public criticisms, putting down most authors and poets.


Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* Loretta wrote: "DeeDee wrote: "i'm with Stephen King about Twilight
but Mark Twain about Jane Austen? why ?"

I had to laugh at Twain's "Every time I read Pride and Prejudice..." Why on earth would he read it mor..."


Trust me, I doubt he read it much. It was used as a threat from this article recap LOL:

"Rather than pitying Twain when he was sick, Howells threatened to come and read Pride and Prejudice to him."


message 38: by Alyssa (new)

Alyssa Sass masters lol


message 39: by Mum (new)

Mum Paula wrote: "I have nothing against Pride and Prejudice and Jane Austen. But the way Twain worded his statement made me laugh hysterically."

Me, too! "Every time I read Pride and Prejudice....." Makes me very curious to know just how many times he forced himself into that urge!


message 40: by Amanda (new)

Amanda Hemingway v.s. Faulkner XD


message 41: by Grace (new)

Grace William and Earnest seemed to be having a battle about long words there. I can't agree with Twain's statement on Pride and Prejudice but at least he made me laugh.


message 42: by Sahar (new)

Sahar Jordan wrote: "I thought Stephen King's analysis was funny."

I thought so too


message 43: by Sahar (new)

Sahar Laura wrote: "I'm so with Stephen King in his opinion about Twilight, glad to know i'm not the only one who thinks that, even if a lot of people love Twilight I'm clueless as to their motive."

Me too, I don't get why people get so obsessed with twilight !


message 44: by Grace (new)

Grace Sahar wrote: "Laura wrote: "I'm so with Stephen King in his opinion about Twilight, glad to know i'm not the only one who thinks that, even if a lot of people love Twilight I'm clueless as to their motive."

Me ..."


Same!


message 45: by Zouina (new)

Zouina Sid Ahmed Mark Twain and I are soulmates


message 46: by بهناز (new)

بهناز پیری "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."

uhmm....WHAT?


message 47: by Anwesha (new)

Anwesha Chakraborty I'm more with Hemmingway rather than Faulkner on necessity of sending a reader to a dictionary frequently to write a great novel!!! Usage of words are a writers personal choice. If simpler words are enough to express your imagination and emotions then why should you complicate matters?!! To get the reader's awe?


message 48: by Grace (new)

Grace Anwesha wrote: "I'm more with Hemmingway rather than Faulkner on necessity of sending a reader to a dictionary frequently to write a great novel!!! Usage of words are a writers personal choice. If simpler words ar..."

I agree. Especially if I don't have a dictionary at hand. :P I'd rather know what the writer was talking about than have to leaf through a book every ten seconds.


message 49: by Daniella (new)

Daniella Capote's statement made me laugh.


message 50: by Zouina (new)

Zouina Sid Ahmed "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."
This is absolute rubbish, fancy words don't mean great writing


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