How does King David alienate his audience in the novel, God Knows?

King David alienates his audience by constantly building up his reputation at the expense of the reputations of others. For instance, David claims, "I think I may have been the first grown man in the world to fall truly, passionately, sexually, romantically, and sentimentally in love." He sets himself up as archetypal artist—the composer of "Ode to Joy," "Ave Maria," and the Goldberg Variations, superior poet to Milton, Shelley, and even Shakespeare, whom he accuses of having "pilfered' from him in writing Hamlet and Othello.