Posted by Mal on February 27, 19101 at 21:47:45:
In Reply to: Giles Goat Boy posted by Nate on February 22, 19101 at 09:03:59:
Well, this may not be of very much help. I read Giles more or less when it came out, and I've read it quite a few times since. But apart from the people in this and similar groups, I don't know anyone who's read any Barth at all!
It might be a consolation that exactly the same thing (everyone bought it, no one read it) was said about Hawking's "History of Time", so perhaps it's apocryphal.
I don't know how you would possibly answer the question unless you could dig up some publisher or bookseller surveys from the late 60s. But they tend only to yse sales.
I suppose you might also find out roughly how often "Giles" appeared on college reading lists (when presumably it was bought *and* read), but it's quite possible that wouldn't have happened until the 80s or later.
It's a tough one.
Mal.