In the last post, I discussed how to prepare to write a book review: what questions to prepare beforehand, how to scan, read, question, and take notes. This article describes how to add the most important element of a professional book review: the critique.
I try not to critique a book until I have been through all of the previous steps. Even if something comes to mind, I do not write it down. My goal is to understand the author’s purpose and the work itself before I critique. Early in the process, I may not understand the perspective, goal, or approach.
THE FIRST STEP is to write a detailed outline of the books contents, relying on the previous notes and the book itself. The finished outline allows me to view the structure of the book on one page/screen, and will serve as the prompt for writing the section of the review about content.
Once I understand the book well enough that I could explain it to someone else, I am ready to critique. The goal is to critique the book from knowledge, not just reactionary opinion, and to provide a review that sound in it critique rather than just merely contentious. Compare the following:
- “In this book, the author’s goal is to …, and she succeeds admirably.” “This novel uses a deconstructionist approach to human suffering, and, while there is some fine literary work here, it is often too contrived.” “The author’s purpose was to …, and though the plot is intriguing, the lack of depth makes that purpose unfulfilled.”
- “This book is badly written and confusing.” “After the first chapter I found myself not wanting to continue.” “There is too much flowery detail for my tastes.”
There is nothing wrong with inserting your personal opinions, but such opinions should be secondary and rare. (A reader might appreciate flowery detail.) Instead, let the book itself critique the book. You may not like the style, or the type of plot or literary devices—but does the book succeed in what it intends to be? Or, does it contribute something to art, literature, entertainment outside of your own personal feelings? I might not enjoy modern romance novels, but I should not critique it from my dislike of that genre; I should critique it as it stands within that genre. I enjoy Joyce’s later stream-of-comsciousness style and his playing around wit the technique of language, but I cannot then write positive reviews of all of his work merely because I like and appreciate them. I must critique a book in light of where it stands in the genre, the field, and the intent of the work.
THE SECOND STEP is to make critical notes. Work through the outline and the notes I took previously, and ask the following questions:
- Are there problems with plot clarity or reasoning (fiction and nonfiction, respectively)?
- Is storyline and character development (or argument and substantiation) thorough and sound?
- Is there anything that is illogical or incomplete (fiction), or is the author uninformed or misinformed in areas (nonfiction).
- What contribution does it make to the field or to literature and/or entertainment?
Write up a rough paragraph or two based on each question above. (How much you write depends on the required or desired length of the review.)
At this point, you should have a collection of notes: (1) a brief summary of the book, (a series of notes based on an analysis of the content (the four questions of stage 2), (2) a detailed outline, (3) a series of notes critiquing the book in four areas (above).
I am now ready to write the first draft of the review, which I will discuss in part 3.
ALL POSTS IN THIS SERIES
How to Write A Book Review (Part 1)
How to Write A Book Review (Part 2)
How to Write a Book Review (Part 3)
If you are interested in writing a book review for Sulis blog, contact Anthony Holmes via email.
