The Art of the Book Review

 

Photo cred: The New York Times

The most important aspect of a book review is that it is a commentary, not just a summary. The person who writes the review can agree or disagree with the author of the book, and they can voice their opinions on all aspects of the novel. As opposed to hard news, which is factual, book reviews are subject to an individual’s opinion.  

On October 10, 1896, The New York Times said: “We begin today the publication of a supplement which contains reviews of the new books.”

The first book review was published in 1896 and featured ten reviews. However, the book reviews of the past were very different than what we are accustomed to today. The Book Review first treated books as hard news instead of pieces of art and literature. 

In 1913, the concept of The Book Review shifted after a statement was released stating: “An open forum for the discussion of books from all sane and honest points of view is always accessible in the New York Times Book Review.” This idea of book reviews being a discussion rather than hard facts revolutionized the art of literary criticism, beginning the transformation of what we know today. 

“In much more than nine cases out of ten the only objectively truthful criticism would be ‘This book is worthless’, while the truth about the reviewer’s own reaction would probably be “This book does not interest me in any way, and I would not write about it unless I were paid to" (George Orwell, 1946).

In 1925, J. Donald Adams was appointed editor and made it his priority and mission to make The Book Review something more than just telling people what the book was about. He wanted the conversation regarding books to become more opinionated. 

Adams was born on September 24, 1891. Throughout his life, he was a critic, journalist, editor, and author. Graduating from Harvard in 1913, he edited the Harvard Monthly and submitted his own essays, works of fiction, and poetry to the journal. J. Adams held the title of editor of The Book Review until 1943, when he then became the contributing editor. 

In 1970, John Leonard took over The Book Review. Under his curation, he brought in new reviewers to shift the tone of the column. These new reviewers were primarily women and minority groups to shed light on new writers and increasingly relevant topics. 

Book Reviews in the Digital Age

So, how have book reviews evolved to have a presence in the modern-day digital age? In 2008, critics Laura Miller and Louis Bayard wrote an article for Salon entitled Who Killed the Literary Critic. While this title seems harsh, it is inherently true the more one thinks about it. With online book websites like Goodreads and even Amazon reviews taking off, consumers tend to go off 5-star ratings and short blurbs instead of the deep, opinionated work of reviewers for publications like The New York Times, People, and Entertainment Weekly. 

Richard Price for Critical Mass spoke up about his opinion surrounding the instantaneous quality of book reviews now: “I think our crisis is instant evaluation versus expansive engagement, real time versus reflective time, commodity versus community, product versus process. Substituting a user’s rating for a reader’s rearrangement threatens to turn literature into a lawn ornament.”

To demonstrate the fall of book reviews and the way society now chooses to inform itself on pivotal novels, here are some examples of actual reviews left by every day people. These "reviews," if you even dare call them that, will influence people not to read these classic books.  

This reader gave Catcher in the Rye one star and said: “In my hand I hold $5. I will give it to anyone who can explain the plot of this book (or why there is no plot) and make me understand why the hell people think it’s so amazing."

After reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary classic The Great Gatsby, this reader was pleased by only one aspect of the novel: “There was one thing I really liked about the Great Gatsby. It was short.”

Finally, this reader gave The Life of Pi 5 stars, but went on by saying: “Little Indian Boy goes on weird boat ride with mean cat.”

Photo cred: The New York Times

With all of this being said, it is crucial to understand the importance of a good book review and the history that went into its creation. With publications like The New York Times still attempting to push the great literary book review onto the masses, more people tend to turn to the "short blurb" rather than the art form that is the book review. With people's attention spans shortening, we must go back in time to the era of the classic literary review, allowing society to broaden its intellectual horizons and pick up a new book for a change.