13 January 2018

Amazon Customer: Sick-Minded Margaret Atwood is Supposed to Be a Writer of Women's Books




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Posted by Brian Busby at 11:45 AM
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11 comments:

  1. J F Norris13 January, 2018 12:28

    Poor Barbara. Such a delicate sensibility and childlike worldview. To me reading amazon reviews as a reflection of the minds of everyday people is more nightmarish than the content of The Handmaid's Tale or any other dystopian novel. The closet optimist in me likes to think that these absurdly naive opinions (they're never writing reviews showing that they actually read the book) are actually jokes composed by internet trolls looking to stir up the pot of controversy and incite further diatribes.

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    1. Brian Busby14 January, 2018 16:09

      I can't begin to count the number of Amazon customer book reviews that concern nothing more than slow delivery times and poor condition. Yesterday, I happened upon a 19th-century memoir that was given one star because a previous owner had used a yellow highlighter throughout.

      I share your closet. Surely, many of these reviews must be jokes. Dare I hope that some of the absurd covers spewed forth by print on demand folks are also made in jest?

      Delete
  2. The Passing Tramp13 January, 2018 14:19

    Some readers are very literal people!

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    1. Brian Busby14 January, 2018 16:10

      I, for one, expect a dystopian novel to be disturbing.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous14 January, 2018 05:34

    Barbara Popma is right. This is a sick, hate-filled book.

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    1. Brian Busby14 January, 2018 15:43

      In what way, Anon? I'd be very interested in hearing your reasons.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous14 January, 2018 05:37

    Further, the purchaser of the book has the right to speak her mind without being subjected to personal attacks and insults.

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    1. Brian Busby14 January, 2018 15:53

      Indeed, no one has has suggested otherwise, Anon. In presenting criticism, one opens oneself to the possibility of criticism in return, but I don't see that anyone has resorted to personal attack and insults; certainly nothing along the lines of claiming that someone has a "sick mind."

      Delete
    2. Brian Busby14 January, 2018 15:55

      I criticize myself for the superfluous "has."

      Delete
  5. Anonymous14 January, 2018 09:53

    The inspiration for these reviews, perhaps: "Although written many years ago, Lady Chatterley's Lover has just been reissued by the Grove Press, and this fictional account of the day-to-day life of an English gamekeeper is still of considerable interest to outdoor minded readers, as it contains many passages on pheasant raising, the apprehending of poachers, ways to control vermin, and other chores and duties of the professional gamekeeper.

    "Unfortunately, one is obliged to wade through many pages of extraneous material in order to discover and savor these sidelights on the management of a Midlands shooting estate, and in this reviewer's opinion this book cannot take the place of J.R. Miller's Practical Gamekeeping" (Ed Zern, Field and Stream, November 1959, p. 142).
    http://www.booktryst.com/2011/12/when-field-and-stream-magazine-reviewed.html

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    1. Brian Busby14 January, 2018 16:19

      I wonder if American Restauranteur ever reviewed Mildred Pierce?

      You've reminded me of this weekend's Globe & Mail piece on The Commuter by Brad Ross, the executive director of corporate communications for the Toronto Transit Commission. Good fun, you can read it here.

      The rival Toronto Star has the best headline: " OK Commuter."

      Delete

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