Dear Editor,
It has always been my understanding that the National Book Council’s principal function is the promotion of Australian books.
Therefore I cannot understand why the Council has allowed the publication of a review in its Australian Book Review journal which calls for the public destruction of a book. To quote from Meredith Sorensen’s review (ABR, October 1994, p.67):
take one Big Bad Bruce and tear it to shreds – preferably in front of as many small children of both sexes as you can gather about.
The males of the party, having consumed enormous amounts of something smelly and bubbly, must then piss on the remains.
There are many ways in which a reviewer can express dislike of a particular publication, bµt Sorensen has totally overstepped the mark in her incitement to violence.
I am outraged that the National Book Council deigned to publish such an unprofessional, grossly offensive review.
Patricia Bernard, Paddington
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