I always had contempt for Roth, and could never be bothered with more than reading a few pages of his stuff. You knew immediately where it was going with characters whose lives held no interest. Today someone could program a computer to write his dross.
I love Steyn's description of William F. Buckley's sparring partner, and friend of Claire Bloom, Gore Vidal:
The jacket tells its tale as much as anything inside. The two male friends she turns to for enthusiastic endorsements are Vidal and John Gielgud, neither of whom has any reputation -- how shall we put this? -- as a ladies' man.
Some might remember Buckley's famous exchange with Vidal:
BUCKLEY (snarling, teeth bared): Now listen, you queer, stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I’ll sock you in your goddam face, and you’ll stay plastered …
i also loved what Truman Capote said about Gore Vidal: “He’s not a writer, he’s a typist.”