Titanic Survivors Found in Bermuda Triangle (Critical Overview)

Critical Overview

Critics have generally been favorable to Robert Olen Butler's works throughout his career. When Tabloid Dreams was published, many critical responses focused on the book's general premise, which was to present twelve stories based on lurid-sounding titles that might have been actual headlines in some of the more sensationalistic supermarket tabloids. Bonnie Smothers, writing a review in Booklist, found that Butler "fairly giggles throughout this collection over the fun he's having." Smothers found the stories to be "fabulously grotesque" and praised Butler for "inventiveness bordering on excess." In America, Barbara C. Ewell noted her appreciation of Butler's narrative device and also found the stories to be meaningful on their own: "But what makes these tales more than hilarious devices is how much truth Butler makes the incredible captions reveal about being human, and how well they expose the strangeness of our own daily life." She ends her review by telling readers that "if his fiction makes us probe a little more deeply into the absurd dreams we all inhabit, then he's only doing his job — very well."

There are, however, critics who understand what Butler was trying to accomplish with the form he chose for these stories and yet still find that his skills fall short. An example of this criticism came from Theo Tait, who reviewed the book for the Times Literary Supplement. After acknowledging the book's success in mirroring the collective consciousness of these superficial times, Tait explained, "Unfortunately, these episodes frequently degenerate into a familiar brand of occult whimsy, failing to grapple with their intriguing subject-matter." He found the subject matter of the stories to be too focused on the theme of isolation, with one story after another striking the same note. While many critics have been delighted with what Butler achieved, there are a good number, like Tait, who wished he had accomplished more.