What Makes a Good Review?
tags:
Book Reviewing
My last post about a poorly written review made me think about how book review sections are declining yet as far as I can tell there are plenty of interested readers and writers out there. A big part of that is economic of course, but…
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leave a comment On Books as Sweaters
tags:
book reviewing, books, literary criticism, NBCC, Oprah, writing
When did books become totally irrelevant to the life of the majority of the population in the US? The one purpose they could be counted on to serve, that of entertainment, has been gradually replaced by the movies, the television, the Internet, the MP3 player. The other function of the novel, for instance, to instruct, has been usurped by reality television. The reading masses who in Victorian England made Dickens and Trollope and Collins bestsellers and kept Mudie’s lending library in business today are now learning how not to behave from the derelicts on “The Real Housewives of the OC.”
The next sector up of the reading public is reading whatever Oprah tells them to. And still more sophisticated readers ignore Oprah and listen to the New York Times, which is not much more reliable. Not that there’s anything wrong with Oprah’s picks, or the NYT anointed. They’re usually fine. But very rarely is the writing anything great.
You know what is great? Their marketing team. The amount of negotiating it took for those books to get under the nose of the right person at the right time. Sure, they all have a basic level of excellence. But they are reduced to commodities instead of texts. In this schema, it is irrelevant to establish why Special Topics in Calamity Physics is inferior to On Beauty. People will buy and read both because the New York Times told them to, and who cares about the difference?
I care about the difference.
It’s like that scene in “The Devil Wears Prada” when Meryl Streep coolly explains the trickle-down theory of fashion: that what Andie thinks is an anti-choice (throwing on the first sweater she sees in her closet in the morning) is actually a choice that has been made for her by the people she thinks are irrelevant to her life: those at the very apex of the fashion industry (who are responsible for the sweater’s existence). And you’re right to assume that in this schema, books are sweaters. (It’s just that On Beauty is Chanel whereas Special Topics is J. Crew). The people who buy Oprah’s books are making a non-choice. They’re just bringing in pizza because they’re too lazy to cook. Nothing wrong with pizza. But what’s wrong with cooking? And besides—who are you going to trust to recommend something to eat, Oprah or a food critic? Both, probably, but I would hope more credence would be given to the trained professional.
There are only five freestanding book review sections left in the country and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution fired their book editor two weeks ago. This is bad, and over six thousand writers and book lovers have signed a National Book Critics’ Circle petition asking the AJC to reinstate her. But does anyone actually care if book reviews have their own section in a newspaper or if they’re just thrown in with all the other arts coverage. For that matter, why should books get their own section?
I can’t really give you a convincing enough reason. I can only shake my head and say wistfully that books ought to be much more important than they are. Books do everything the other arts do and they do it more articulately. Books teach us to be functioning, expressive individuals. Movies and television give you empty lines to repeat while you get drunk with your friends. Books make you think for yourself.
« La littérature peut beaucoup, » writes Tzvetan Todorov in his recent essay La littéreature en péril. « Elle peut nous tendre la main quand nous sommes profondément déprimés, nous conduire vers les autres êtres humains autour de nous, nous faire mieux comprendre le monde et nous aider à vivre. Ce n’est pas qu’elle soit, avant tout, une technique de soins de l’âme ; toutefois, révélation du monde, elle peut aussi, chemin faisant, transformer chacun de nous de l’intérieur. » (p. 72)
“Literature can do many things. It can lend a hand when we are profoundly depressed, open us up to the other human beings surrounding us, help us better to live and to understand the world. This is not to say that it is above all a means of healing the soul; nevertheless it can be revelatory, and transforming.” (p. 72)
“Literature has a vital role to play,” Todorov argues, but in order for it to do so it must return to the status it enjoyed up until the end of the 19th century. This is where literary critics come in. So you want to read something other than what Oprah tells you to? Great! But without book reviews in newspapers—at the very least—where are you going to find out what’s worth reading?
Ah yes, that’s right. I forgot. You’re already there. You’re here. The internet.
We’ll talk about that more, next class. I promise I won’t leave you hanging. But this is long enough for now.
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