Of publishers and rejection letters

The diary of Anne Frank:

The work was “very dull,” the reader insisted, “a dreary record of typical family bickering, petty annoyances and adolescent emotions.”

Animal Farm:

“impossible to sell animal stories in the U.S.A.”

Just two of the enlightening comments dredged out of the rejection letters of the Alfred E. Knopf publishing company, as described here in the New York Times. It's worth noting that Knopf has generally been regarded as one of the more intellectually enlightened publishing houses.