Criticism for Sale??
Um, excuse me?? Over at BookSurge Publishing, for the low low cost of $399, authors can buy "Promotional Copy by a New York Times Bestselling Author," which includes, "Full book review and quote for your cover."
The critics writing those reviews and blurbs should have their credentials revoked. Granted, critics are often pressed for cash because most newspapers pay far less than $399 for each review, but still ... it's a very bad idea. The ethical skankiness of that is unprecedented. Maud's response was right on.
posted by Rebecca Skloot 9:15:00 AM
1 Comments:
While I mean to cast no slurs on critics in any way, there are times when I question whether or not a critic has been bribed into writing a good review. For example, I was given proofs to read from the book, "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee," by Rebecca Miller. I also watched a brief video of Ms. Miller reading excerpts from her book. The excerpts read were in the first person narrative, describing Pippa's birth: she scared her mother so badly at her delivery because she was covered in hair-- her mother leaped up screaming and "began running down a hospital hallway leaving bloody footprints on the floor. " (This is a realistic, common occurrence?) When the child grew older, she sat on the bus beside her mother and liked to scratch her, drawing blood. She grows up, and in explicit description, has an affair as a teenager with her lesbian aunt's lover in addition to making an S & M porn movie. I found many of these images lurid and distasteful, and the character of Pippa not believable at all. In short, the book repulsed me.
I am a bit astounded to read various criticism from the U.K. however that call this book something "luminous, beautiful, filled with psychological insight, brilliant, a page turner, realistic, fascinating, and an explanation of why we all do bewildering things." Did we read the same book? While I know my word is not necessarily gospel, I think everyone would agree that a train wreck is not a beautiful thing to witness...images of a teenaged girl and pants with the crotch cut out, among other things in this book, are not what I call beautiful and luminous.
Reviews such as these fill me with suspicion. It's almost like telling people "Tropic of Cancer" is suitable for ten-year-olds. Money may not be the motivation--but is another agenda the motivating factor?
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home