Worst Novel in World Wins Readers

Dubbed "the worst novel ever published in the English language" by the Washington Post, The Great American Parade, by retired University of Wisconsin professor Robert Burrows, has nonetheless found a readership via the magic of the Internet. Contributing to the book's growing momentum, online content marketplace Lulu.com has made the book available in both printed and online versions. Lulu is the latest project of entrepreneur Bob Young, an open-source enthusiast known for flouting convention.

The book, mocked at length by a Washington Post writer in a February interview with the author, is a political satire on economic themes. It posits a fictional conflict between an America controlled by wealthy politicians and an idealistic group of college students. The reviewer, Gene Weingarten, unabashedly declared Burrow's novel to be a "wretchedly terrible product that shames the American publishing industry."

While Burrows describes his book as a "novel of ideas," the Post reviewer-citing the elaborate and formal dialogue-was prompted to ask the author, "Have you ever heard real human beings speak?" But the review was not entirely negative. "Your book is printed on very white, shiny paper," Weingarten remarked as he concluded the interview.

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