J.K. Rowling and the Scathing Review
It's October! Cue one of my favorite U2 songs! I'm wearing three scarves today! Hooray for autumn!
Okay, now that I've got my seasonal ya-yas out, let's move on.
J.K. Rowling's new book, The Casual Vacancy , is now out. As expected for an author of such renown, her book is getting a ton of attention.
Some of it, however, is not the good kind of attention.
The famous Pulitzer-prize winning NY Times book reviewer, Michiko Kakutani, posted an unfavorable review of Rowling's book.
Some choice quotes:
"Unfortunately, the real-life world she has limned in these pages is so willfully banal, so depressingly clichéd that “The Casual Vacancy” is not only disappointing — it’s dull."
"Instead of an appreciation for the courage, perseverance, loyalty and sense of duty that people are capable of, we are left with a dismaying sense of human weakness, selfishness and gossipy stupidity."
The whole review is here. And in case you are wondering:
limn (l m). tr.v. limned, limn·ing (l m n ng), limns. 1. To describe. 2. To depict by painting or drawing. (from the Free Dictionary)
(I'm not too embarrassed to say I had to look it up.)
So.
Did Kakutani's review affect me? Yes.
Will it prevent me from reading Rowling's book? No. My biggest barrier is the many others books ahead of it right now. The review didn't make the book shoot up my TBR list to the next one in line. But I remain rabidly curious about how a kidlit author shifted gears to write a contemporary, adult book, and whether she was successful or not. I also cannot seem to kick my affection for Rowling as the author of some of my favorite books of all time.
How about you? What affect does a review by such a famous reviewer on such a famous author have on you?
Okay, now that I've got my seasonal ya-yas out, let's move on.
J.K. Rowling's new book, The Casual Vacancy , is now out. As expected for an author of such renown, her book is getting a ton of attention.
Some of it, however, is not the good kind of attention.
The famous Pulitzer-prize winning NY Times book reviewer, Michiko Kakutani, posted an unfavorable review of Rowling's book.
Some choice quotes:
"Unfortunately, the real-life world she has limned in these pages is so willfully banal, so depressingly clichéd that “The Casual Vacancy” is not only disappointing — it’s dull."
"Instead of an appreciation for the courage, perseverance, loyalty and sense of duty that people are capable of, we are left with a dismaying sense of human weakness, selfishness and gossipy stupidity."
The whole review is here. And in case you are wondering:
limn (l m). tr.v. limned, limn·ing (l m n ng), limns. 1. To describe. 2. To depict by painting or drawing. (from the Free Dictionary)
(I'm not too embarrassed to say I had to look it up.)
So.
Did Kakutani's review affect me? Yes.
Will it prevent me from reading Rowling's book? No. My biggest barrier is the many others books ahead of it right now. The review didn't make the book shoot up my TBR list to the next one in line. But I remain rabidly curious about how a kidlit author shifted gears to write a contemporary, adult book, and whether she was successful or not. I also cannot seem to kick my affection for Rowling as the author of some of my favorite books of all time.
How about you? What affect does a review by such a famous reviewer on such a famous author have on you?
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