I am rarely delighted by my one-star Amazon reviews. Especially when I’m taken to task for making up dumb stuff, when in fact I did scrupulous research and the reviewer didn’t bother to simply google the topic and find that out. (Okay, that one still rankles.)
But at least I’m in good company. Jeanette Demain over at Salon has been brooding over one-star reviews of the classics.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte:
Endless, pointless description. DESCRIPTION, DESCRIPTION, DESCRIPTION!!! The entire book is written in stupid metaphors. The few places where there is actually any dialogue bore the reader to tears. Honestly, i think that this is dubbed a classic simply because it is older than sand.
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White, Garth Williams, and Rosemary Wells:
Absolutely pointless book to read. I felt no feelings towards any of the characters. I really didn’t care that Wilbur won first prize. And how in the world does a pig and a spider become friends? It’s beyond me.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith:
This book is 3 words over and over again: MY LIFE IS BAD. 500 pages and that’s all it says. It’s exactly the same as any other book about a poor family with an irresponsible father and a child who manages to be alright (Angela’s Ashes, Black Boy, Riding in Cars With Boys) the only difference is – THIS ONE IS FICTION.
1984 by George Orwell:
At first I did like the book. Then it just started to suck right around the time when Winston was getting sexually involved with his girl friend. I hated the book so much that I forgot her name. The first hundred or so pages i liked, then it just got really boring. So II highly reccomend that you DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. And please for the love of God don’t read that “Brave New World” book by Hoxley. It is twice as worse as 1984. To put it bluntly, DON’T READ ANY GEORGE ORWELL. Your just waisting your time.
Diary of Anne Frank
I didn’t like this book because it was boring. That’s all that needs to be said. It was very very very very very very very very very very very boring. If you have to read this book shoot yourself first.
The Holy Bible:
Man, this book is boring. All this weird stuff happens and it’s harder to get into than Lord of the Rings. And what’s up with the red writing and the LORD says stuff. All caps = rude, peter paul and mark, whoever the heck you are. And this is just badly written. James Patterson could do better. These apostles need to get a clue and hire a ghost writer. Even Miley Cyrus’s manager was smart enough to do that. Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ, indeed.
Well all right, I rather suspect that last one may just be a hoax. But the tone is somehow right— obviously it’s produced by someone who’s studied his fellow reviewers closely.
Okay, I feel better now.
[via kenneth]
