![]() More often than not, if I’m not as high on a book that everyone else loves, there are at least enough redeeming qualities to warrant a third star. 2 stars are a little more common, but not by much. I can count the number of 1 star reviews I’ve written on one hand, with room to spare. Truly I tell you, I am almost never that guy. Wherever you see a “high average” book on Amazon or Goodreads (such as this one – a 4.13/5 on GR at the time of my writing this) and you scroll through the reviews, there is always a least one prick among the 4 and 5 star gushers who has to poop in the punch bowl. But I have no patience for a novel that fails spectacularly and aggressively at both. I can forgive an ambitious novel for falling a little short of its goals. I can forgive an entertaining novel for lacking ambition. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Good authors tend to excel at one of those aims to the detriment of the other, or excel adequately enough at both to find artistic and/or commercial success. Great authors do both of those things brilliantly and produce great works, but great authors are few and far between. Fiction can do quite a lot of things, but most often it aims to entertain or to express ambitious ideas. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |