So. Before I start - reviewing. They're opinions. Critiques. Preferences. Impossible to predict or control. Can be helpful or hurtful. Illustrating the duel importance of a writer having both thick-skin and a swell-resistant head.
And, of course, there's severe oddness in being a rabid reader and reviewer who doles out reviews - but also being a writer who GETS reviews. Ironically, becoming the latter has not tempered my honesty in being the former, although writing LOTS of reviews and reading LOTS of reviews has convinced me that above all, in the middle of being honest, it's important not to trash or belittle a work and its writer. At least in my opinion.
That having been said, onward....
I find it difficult, sometimes, to articulate to myself the difference between four and five star reviews. Three star reviews are usually pretty easy to identify. A three star book could very easily be written capably on the prose level, but for me, I awarded it only three stars because of a serious issue with something in the story itself: plot development, characterization, resolution...something like that. I'll be reading along, then hit a major snag in the story that just screams to me: THREE STARS.
But the difference between a four and five star review is very narrow, while some fives are easy to spot. For example, I recently read a book that my gut (and future review) immediately and clearly classified as a 4. That was followed by a Ramsey Campbell collection, which had identified itself as a clear 5 about halfway through.
Right now, however, I'm in the middle of a book that could go either way. And it's interesting how much that decision hangs by a thread. I thought about it for a bit - as I was drifting on a haze of half-sleep after writing this morning - and I think I zoned in on two major things that differentiate between a four and five star review:
1. balance, rhythm, variance...and lyricism of the prose
2. overall uniqueness of the story
A brief explanation. And YES, these judgements are completely preference based.
1. balance, rhythm, variance...and lyricism of the prose: I very much appreciate tight prose. If it's tight, controlled, observes all the fundamentals of grammar and structure, I automatically give tons of points to that. In fact, that's why my 3 star reviews aren't 2 star reviews. Because if something in the plot really jarred me, I'm giving the writer props for their actual prose.
But tightness in prose is not enough for a five star review. Maybe the writer's prose is tight and controlled, but didn't vary the sentence lengths enough. Or there's very plain word choice, or not very detailed word choice. Or not enough variance in their word choice. For whatever reason, even though I can't FAULT the prose in any way, it simply didn't achieve that sensation of flowing, balanced lyricism. So in other words, even though I found nothing wrong in the writing, there was nothing there that stood out. Nothing there that made me stop, re-read it and think: Wow. Now that's really something.
2. overall uniqueness of the story: now, I will say this: I take AWAY points when people try to be way too original and fail at it. I'll award more points a - 4 over 3 - for a writer operating in a well-used trope that we've all seen before, but everything is contained and makes sense, characters operate the way the author has created them to, and there's nothing in the plot that makes me think: WAIT. How is that even possible? My biggest pet peeve here are unthinkable plot-twists. To me, if they've been done well, I shouldn't think: Wow. This makes no sense, I should be thinking Wow. I totally should've seen that coming. How did I miss that?
However, sometimes writers craft prose that hits the requirement in #1, and their story is unique, different AND meets the requirements of #2. Then, we're talking a five star review.
So, in the long run...how important is all this?
Not that important, I suppose. The only thing that makes it even noteworthy is it not only clarifies what type of fiction I love to read, but the kind of fiction I'd love to write, someday. Past that, I'll admit: the above judgements are highly based on preference.
In any case, here comes the rare question, so show me some blog-love: what does it for you? What nudges that book or short story or novella you're reading over the edge from a 4 to a 5 star review?
What nudges? Pretty much just what you said.
ReplyDeleteSome stories speak to me. Some author's word craft speaks to me. If they hit that button its a 5. If not most likely a 4. And its totally subjective.
Its the difference between "what a great book!" and "I must own this, I must tell others, I must keep this forever and ever and read it again....".
Yep. Ditto on that, exactly. Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteI'm too overly critical, I think. Usually if I read something and like it, I'll give it three stars on Goodreads. If I REALLY like it and would recommend it, then four stars. If I loved the book so much I wish I would have written it, then five stars. But what makes me love a book is difficult to say, as I've given five stars to many different books in many different genres.
ReplyDeleteSort of off/on topic here, but in the past year I've come to realize just how important Amazon reviews are to getting the books recommended to readers, so I've been trying to make a conscious effort to leave reviews for those books that I deem four or five star worthy, as it will give a boost to those writers (I'm talking about the newbie authors more than Stephen King and Harlan Coben and others who don't need the extra push). Even though three stars means I liked the book, I don't leave those reviews at Amazon as it actually reflects poorly on the book there, unlike at Goodreads where I think people are more critical in their ratings ... mostly because they can simply put a star rating and not explain why it is they like or dislike the book. As much as I like getting good reviews, it's always frustrating to get a one-star review with no explanation. It's the reader's right to give that one-star review, sure, but as the author I'd at least like to know what it is about the book they didn't care for (like a one-star review at Amazon for my novel The Calling, where the reader stated they had wanted a Dean Koontz book and ended up with mine instead ...).
I don't actually *do* reviews, except in my mind. I.e., I've never written a public review on Amazon, etc. But here's how I categorize it:
ReplyDeleteA 4 is about what's there...a 5 is about what isn't.
For a novel or collection to earn a 4 from me, all the positive elements have to be there, including the ones you described: the prose has to read like butter; I have to stop and marvel at some of the phrases or sentences ("Gee, I wish I had written that"); I have to close the book and go "ahhh" because of the way the story resolved.
But even in most 4's, there are occasional clunky elements, since nobody's perfect. To reach a 5, a book has to be virtually free of those negatives: overdone stereotypes; typos; or worse yet--misused words*; echoes**; having characters use words & phrases that are inconsistent with their backgrounds***. In other words, if my pesky Inner Editor is forced to shut up because he finds nothing to criticize, then it could be a 5.
*two examples I've seen repeatedly: using "jive" when you mean "jibe" (jibe is to "agree with," to "be compatible or harmonize" while jive means "kidding, teasing, or exaggeration"). The second example is when writers overlook the differences between a psychologist and a psychiatrist. Three minutes of research would sort that out.
When I see sloppiness like this in a work, I think: Really? The author and how many editors/publishing professionals read over this before publication and no one caught this? (As you can tell, one of my subjective priorities is attention to detail)
**Every author tends to have certain catch phrases they use too much, myself included. But that's what a good edit is supposed to be for. If I hear Ted Dekker use the phrase "he dipped his head" one more time, I'll scream. Stephen King does this. Tom Clancy is famous for it. Myself, I tend to have characters sigh too much..or show female characters brushing their hair back to the point of nausea.
***I'm looking at you, Philip Roth. Roth is a brilliant intellectual, and a master wordsmith. Unfortunately, even his "white trash" characters with a 4th grade education and no neck have a tendency to slip into erudite diction, which sounds suspiciously more like the author than the character.
Robert - but in the past year I've come to realize just how important Amazon reviews are to getting the books recommended to readers
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting, because I agree...I think they've actually gotten more important over the last few years. And I'm probably too easy on my reviews. Not necessary not-critical, but the only thing that really fries me is bad writing. Clumsy POV, terrible dialogue, that sort of thing.
And those stupid Amazon reviews drive me up the wall, too...