I never fully trusted Janet Maslin’s film reviews. So let’s just say that when she switched to reviewing books, her trustworthiness didn’t spike. True to form in today’s Times, she somehow goes through a three-part process of: a) writing a first half of the review that makes the book sound truly off-putting, maybe even regrettable; b) then praising the book in a semi-convincing way, leaving you to wonder why she was OK publishing an initial few paragraphs that, in my opinion, would cause many people to stop reading; and c) finishing up with a description of the book’s finale…
The book’s triumphant coda is a final exam rehashing questions raised by the narrative. True or false: “Blue van Meer has read too many books.” True or false: “Reading an obscene number of reference books is greatly advantageous to one’s mental health.”
…that makes it sound like something I would go to great lengths to avoid reading. Here, judge the judge for yourself.
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