Quote:
Originally Posted by wgrimm
I think the problem with many self-styled "reviewers" is that they don't know shit from shinola about what constitutes good writing. It's the same sort of thing I see when the silly and uninformed make claims like "I don't know about art but I know what I like." Usually in the next sentence you will hear them tell you how great Norman Rockwell was and how terrible Picasso was...
We need gatekeepers, but I am not so sure that the average reader really makes a good gatekeeper.
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I think it depends just how
aggressive we require the gate-keeping to be and I believe we are in danger of being too elitist.
The average reader is probably capable of identifying and holding back a flood of badly formatted works that are full of typos and ridiculous/inconsistent plot. Most readers want to be protected from unreadable works that waste their money completely. I am not sure they are looking for good or great writing.
Stylistically I regard Jeffrey Archer as a terrible novelist. Swimming through cement is easier to achieve than reaching the end of one of his books. He is however a great storyteller. It doesn't matter that his books are formulaic, his characters shallow stereotypes etc. He understands what makes a blockbuster and is a multi-millionaire with a loyal following of hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions. Nothing a reviewer says will ever dent that. His readers are totally concerned with plot and don't notice or care about quality of writing.
I like to think my own novella is enjoyable but it costs about as much as a burger and is similarly disposable. I am in no delusion it adds in any way to the great canon of Western literature. If however it brings a smile to a face and an hour or two of enjoyment - job done, as far as I am concerned. Not every writer aspires to great literature or every reader desires to read it.
My degree was English Literature, I think I understand what makes a good technical review of a book. Most of it is not relevant to the average reader's book choice though. I think most people are reading for pleasure and not for the quality of writing. To use your analogy it doesn't matter to them whether the picture is painted by Picasso or Rockwell as long as they didn't run out of paint half way through and the canvas isn't full of holes. Ultimately all artistic valuation is subjective. It is simply the reviewer's job to provide sufficient detail that the reader can make an informed choice.
MR is already a self-selecting elite by virtue of the fact we have access to e-readers, which are still in a price range they are not yet mass-consumer items, and most have enough disposable income to spend on e-books to fill them. By simple virtue of the fact someone spends time reading and/or posting here they obviously care about books. Personally I think the more who get involved with this project the better.