Reviews - The Cruel, The Bland and Everything in between.

To a large extent my central purpose as a blogger is to review. It's a tricky thing to do, to write my subjective thoughts down about another's blood, sweat and tears. I do admit to it becoming easier in reviewing somewhat diplomatically though my friendships have made it more difficult in other ways. To be honest in your thoughts on a book is also to leave your prejudices bare. People can tell what kind of reader you are and how insightful or technically minded you are. They can also interpret your sense of humour, how jaded you are and worse, how cruel you can be.

Honestly, a reviewer shouldn't be cruel. Ever. Even if the work is a complete mess beyond redemption. But we all have bad days and sometimes that badly written title has the misfortune of being read on one of those days. It's happened to me once and the review is short because I couldn't stand talking about the book at any length. It's not my finest moment.

I don't read many bloggers reviews. There are only a small number that I will make the time to check out. Why? My tastes in book reviews are just as select as my YA preferences. I like a detailed (but not necessarily long) review with exploration of characterisation, plot and pacing. I like a reviewer that has a way with words, an interesting voice, appropriate humour and honesty. I want a critical review. If the book is outstanding or atrocious, I want to know why. The why is so important and many reviewers forget this, or their why is largely 'fun', 'cool' or 'awesome' which doesn't cut the mustard with me. (Though everyone who reads this blog knows that I love the word awesome.) Most importantly, I don't want to read spoilers in the contents of the review. It's a big no no, don't do it.

Bad reviews have a horrible affect on a person's self esteem. You may receive ninety nine glowing reviews but it's the scathing one that you learn line for line and carry around in your heart. Sometimes they are justified, sometimes not. But it's the tone of the review that separates cruel from negative. Negative reviews with justification are a part of being creative that people need to be able to respond to civilly (or not at all). It's not fun but it's part of the job. However, no one should have to deal with reviews that attack the creator with outright cruelty, it's these reviews that speak so much more about the reviewer than the creator.

That being said, nice reviews are problematic too. A reviewer that likes everything isn't reviewing all that much. Choosing to be nice, over being honest, is a less than admirable reviewing trait. It lessens the strength of your opinion - I don't read some blogger's reviews as I never feel like I know what they genuinely feel about the book. You can give good reviews without being blandly nice, try pointing out specifics of the book that were fantastic and why. Be detailed in your thoughts. If you've found yourself writing the same sentence about a multitude of other books, then you're not looking at it critically enough. All books aren't the same and neither should your reviews be.

I want to leave you with an example of how a cruel review can be beyond hurtful. Having recently seen and fallen in love with Jane Campion's film, Bright Star, I went immediately into a John Keats fact finding mission. I have always responded to his poetry, I thought he was enormously talented and have taught his work to my students in the past. He died at twenty-five thinking he was a failure. This was due in large part to the unfavourable reviews his work received.

It's terribly sad that a man of such beautiful sentiment, died thinking his work was rubbish.

Reviews like this didn't help...

"To witness the disease of any human understanding, however feeble, is distressing; but the spectacle of an able mind reduced to a state of insanity is of course ten times more afflicting. It is with such sorrow as this that we have contemplated the case of Mr John Keats. ... He was bound apprentice some years ago to a worthy apothecary in town. But all has been undone by a sudden attack of the malady. ... For some time we were in hopes, that he might get off with a violent fit or two; but of late the symptoms are terrible. The phrenzy of the "Poems" was bad enough in its way; but it did not alarm us half so seriously as the calm, settled, imperturbable drivelling idiocy of Endymion.[...] Back to the [apothecary] shop Mr John, back to ‘plasters, pills, and ointment boxes.’"

It's a particular nasty derivative of don't give up your day job.

Something to think about when you're writing your next review.