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This Is Sort of Like Having a Luddite Review the New iPodSeptember 12, 2009 When the NY Times reviews genre fiction, there's a substantial chance that the reviewer will spend a good portion of his or her review saying snide things about the genre as a whole. I don't think anyone I know of in the genre business considers the Times a particularly friendly place to the genre. But really, the most recent review of Lev Grossman's The Magicians was so demeaning towards the genre as to stand out.Michael Agger writes, "Fantasy novels involve magic and are a little bit like magic themselves. To work, they require of readers a willingness to be fooled, to be gulled into a world of walking trees and talking lions. They affect us most powerfully as teenagers, but then most of us move on to sterner, staider stuff." There's no subtext here. Fantasy novels are suitable for entertaining uncultured teenagers, and require sneering at to make sure adults don't revert. The essay ends on a gigantic sneer: "Perhaps a fantasy novel meant for adults can’t help being a strange mess of effects. It’s similar to inviting everyone to a rave for your 40th-birthday party. Sounds like fun, but aren’t we a little old for this?" I'm not going to get into debating with this mindset. If you don't think fantasy novels are worthy of adult attention, the simple solution is to just not review them. I don't much like sports, so why would I bother to review a sports book? At the core, someone who thinks like Agger is not going to have anything interesting to say about genre fiction. The only people who'll find the review entertaining are people who like watching genre books get pissed on. But then the Times compounds the issue by reviewing a horror novel in the same edition. Helen Oyeyemi's White is For Witching gets a review from Andrew Ervin that statesm, "Although she may rely on some too familiar narrative ploys, Oyeyemi clearly appreciates that some crimes (like slavery or genocide or, in this case, institutional racism) are so heinous that the conventions of realist fiction seem woefully inadequate to describe them. She makes us glad to suspend disbelief." So horror is acceptable for adults, but fantasy isn't? I think this deserves the bluntness of calling it a stupid, irrational bigotry against fantastical elements in a story that aren't "literary" enough or performing some deeply important social function by calling attention to monstrous injustices. And the only reason I can think of that the NY Times Book Review continues to feature reviews sneering at science fiction and fantasy is that the editors want to keep genre fiction from somehow infecting the minds of highbrow literature readers. Reading a genre books is some sort of harsh unpleasant task that NY Times reviewers take on in order to protect innocent lit-lovers who might otherwise get snared by the popular buzz around The Magicians or similar books, and then catch the dreaded genre disease. Posted by Josh Jasper on September 12, 2009 | Comments (12)
September 12, 2009
In response to: This Is Sort of Like Having a Luddite Review the New iPod Joel commented: Like a vegetarian reviewing a steakhouse.
September 12, 2009
In response to: This Is Sort of Like Having a Luddite Review the New iPod Rose Fox commented: Like a PETA member reviewing a zoo.
September 12, 2009
In response to: This Is Sort of Like Having a Luddite Review the New iPod Joel commented: Like a eunuch reviewing a porn site.
September 12, 2009
In response to: This Is Sort of Like Having a Luddite Review the New iPod Rose Fox commented: Like a Christian Scientist reviewing a hospital.
September 12, 2009
In response to: This Is Sort of Like Having a Luddite Review the New iPod sasha commented: Conversely,like a devout atheist reviewing a church
September 12, 2009
In response to: This Is Sort of Like Having a Luddite Review the New iPod Rose Fox commented: Sasha: That was going to be my next one! Um... like a pacifist reviewing machine guns.
September 13, 2009
In response to: This Is Sort of Like Having a Luddite Review the New iPod JESilverstein commented: I think the Times reviewer reviewed Grossman's novel because Grossman's a reviewer himself. I read Grossman's novel "Codex" and thought that though the guy can write, it was just a weak novel, mainly because of his passive protagonist--covered in praise from other critics. Based on that experience, I get the sense there's a little sour grapes going on here. At the same time, the reviewer may have a point: Grossman didn't sell me on much of what went on in "Codex." Maybe he just doesn't have the chops to pull off fantasy either.
September 14, 2009
In response to: This Is Sort of Like Having a Luddite Review the New iPod mvg commented: Like a scholar of best news industry practices reviewing The New York Times ... oops.
September 14, 2009
In response to: This Is Sort of Like Having a Luddite Review the New iPod Stacey commented: I would not hasten to attribute this attitude to the institution. When an editor assigns a book reviewer, you really never know how they're going to react to the book. Often you assign a book you love to someone who pans it and vice versa. It's not like you can then demand that the reviewer alter his or her opinion without being left open to equally indignant charges of editorial strong-arming. It's Agger you should blame.
September 14, 2009
In response to: This Is Sort of Like Having a Luddite Review the New iPod Half full commented: There's no such thing as bad publicity: "Brakebills will remind readers of Hogwarts, though with more illicit fondling. Grossman has written . . . a Harry Potter for adults."
September 14, 2009
In response to: This Is Sort of Like Having a Luddite Review the New iPod Rose Fox commented: Stacey: On the contrary, I think a reviews editor has the obligation to consider a reviewer's preferences when assigning a book. It's not about someone panning a book you love; it's about making sure the reviewer is part of the target audience, and can tell you whether it succeeds or fails for that audience. If Agger would never have bought the book in a bookstore, then he should never have been assigned it to review.
September 17, 2009
In response to: This Is Sort of Like Having a Luddite Review the New iPod Tom L commented: And don't get me started on Romance. Even genre afficianados like to rip on Romance, and there are some terrific books being written into the genre.
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