[WARNING: RANT AHEAD]
I'm a big fan of the work of Richard Brautigan. Back in August of 2011, I noticed that some omnibus ebooks of his work had become available, and I recommended to my local library (Denver Public) that they purchase them. When they did, I checked one out, an omnibus with Revenge of the Lawn, The Abortion, and So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away.
I started reading, and gave up at 8%. Here are the errors my casual reading found (to make sure they were errors, I checked against my p-book edition):
- The; classrooms – in “Elmira”
- place for mc to hunt – in “Elmira”
- I won’t She left the kitchen. – in “Coffee”
- Cup “of coffee – in “Coffee”
- Take your head cut of your – in “The Lost Chapters of Trout Fishing in America”
- At tie poor -- in “The Lost Chapters of Trout Fishing in America”
- Picnic basket? – in “The Lost Chapters of Trout Fishing in America”
- Mu:h meat. – in “The Weather in San Francisco”
- “I don’t wan: any – in “The Weather in San Francisco”
Clearly, the publisher did an OCR scan, and not only didn't have a human proof it...they didn't even run a basic spellcheck.
I wrote a very angry letter to the publisher (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), complaining of their shoddy work. No answer.
I just checked the Kindle edition out of the library tonight--five months later--and (you guessed it) the errors are still there.
Usually I can deal with typos. But for some reason, this issue with the Brautigan omnibus really pisses me off. Brautigan's been dead for a long time, and obviously can't check his proofs. But his literary executor can't have a look? The publisher can price it at $8.80, but can't be bothered to perform their job at even a cursory level? Maybe they could dig up his body and see if there's any jewelry in the casket, or a dollar or two tucked away and forgotten in his funeral suit. I mean, clearly Brautigan's just a way of generating some income. They clearly don't give a rat's hindquarters for his literary legacy.
One of those situations where I have no doubt that, if the book were in the public domain, a MUCH MUCH better edition would exist. Because it would be stewarded by someone who gave a damn about the work.
Any suggestions on a better, more productive response? Mail them a dead fish via parcel post?