Not so long ago I was a “member” of the Book of the Month Club (BOMC). Every few weeks I received the glossy brochure with books I never bought and 6,000 pamphlets I perused to procrastinate from doing important things. Still, they were handy to read over lunch.
I sent a snappy email to BOMC, though, saying I wanted to quit. They sent me a neat little package saying now I could order 1 book, get 1 free, free shipping, and $5.00 off.
So there I was, over lunch, perusing this month’s selections and lo and behold came to this review:
…Pessl’s debut novel is complex yet compelling, erudite yet accessible. It combines the suspense of Hitchcock, the self-parody of Dave Eggers, and the storytelling gifts of Donna Tartt with a dazzling intelligence and wit entirely Pessl’s own.
I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t read a book with a review like that. I wonder if the reviewer even read it. And I wouldn’t want that kind of review about a book of mine. Or would I?
Which leads me to the question, what kind of BOMC book review would I want? After mulling this over and coming up with schmarmy phrases too sappy to print (but containing plenty of superlatives and words like "compassion" and "insight") I think it’s too premature to say, because whatever I say would be limiting to my unfinished work.
But what about you…what would your BOMC book review say?
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2 comments:
Reading that sample review, I'm reminded of the Seinfeld episode about the clothes catalogue descriptions. Those always perplexed me, too! Well, hmmm, I'd like my review to say: "Winner of the Pulitzer Prize."
I would like mine to be simple and succinct--"Pure genius."
:-)
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