The Art of Writing a Review

The art of writing a review of a book is really a difficult one. It is. It involves the fine art of balancing between your views and opinions and that of the author. But, the more important aspect is having a command over the language. After all, you cannot really write your views and opinions using a thin armory of vocabulary. Importantly, it is also critical that you know the meaning of the words you employ.

In India today, reviewers are mushrooming faster than rabbits can make babies. Faster than the Novel Coronavirus can spread across the globe. Faster even than the speed of rumor. Reviewers are throwing themselves at authors who’s books have been just released. Some ask for money for reviews while others promise to do it for free if the author can only give them a free copy of the book. If it is really love for reading, then buy a book, review it without bias and feel proud about it.

What’s wrong with sponsored reviews?

People who have no love for reading, or appreciating the finer aspects of writing, review books because it’s turned into a lucrative trade for them. Others offer bulk reviewing services at fixed costs. The genuine readers and their all-important views are lost in the melee. Reviewing has lost its sanctity.

The short cut to reviewing a book these days by ‘professional reviewers’ is to compare it with some other book or worst still, a movie. How can one compare a book to a movie? The entire process is different. That is why when a book is made into a movie, it’s called ‘movie adaptation’. The book is redone, there is a script and a screenplay. They do not know the pains an author goes through to choose every word, frame every thought and write every sentence in a book. They don’t know how it is to write, how to read and how to enjoy a book. They are in fast mode, writing as many reviews as they can for their respective aggregators.

If an opinion is important, where is the sanctity if that opinion is biased? What is the sanctity of a review if it is stage-managed?