When perusing Amazon reviews of Christian books, the first reviews I will go to are the negative ones. I made that admission in a recent writer’s group and, to my surprise, several other authors agreed! But why is this? The answer is simple, and one I wish more of us would admit: The Christian reviewer who is willing to risk three stars to a Christian author is probably more trustworthy than the one who won’t. I am more likely to trust a reviewer’s five star rating, if they are willing to give out three stars when necessary.
Apparently, this issue of “nice reviews” is not confined to Christians. Sarah McCarry, in the Huffington Post, recently addressed the issue of “niceness” in the context of book blogging, specifically as it relates to the community of female authors. From Faking Nice in the Blogosphere: Women and Book Reviews:
…the role of the critic is not to make people feel good, to distribute hugs and goodwill all around; it is to contextualize and examine the role of a particular book, to evaluate its success as a work of art, to demand of both author and reader a certain accountability, and to hopefully open up a conversation.
…Book bloggers and reviewers–female book bloggers and reviewers especially–often seem to subscribe to a kind of cultlike apologism, in which they feel the need to defend the author as a person even if they are temerarious enough to be displeased by her book. Negative reviews are met with a resounding chorus in the comments: the author is a wonderful person, the author worked hard, the author did her very best. The idea is, apparently, that women are so exhausted by the intellectual labor required to produce the text in question that we are unable to withstand any subsequent critique, and ought instead to fall back on some kind of rosy-cheeked sorority of lady writers, exchanging stain-removal tips and sob stories. It goes without saying that male writers are accorded no such coddling, and that entry into this misty realm of sisterly solidarity requires acquiescence to a strict set of codes of behavior. Nice lady writers don’t rock the boat, they don’t hurt people’s feelings, and they sure as hell don’t write about topics that make other lady writers uncomfortable. But instead of promoting community, “obsession with niceness wields a potent silencing force”
This cult of niceness is at its heart a pernicious kind of misogyny, one enforced almost exclusively by other women. As the incomparable New York Times film critic Manohla Dargis noted: “I am an equal opportunity critic. I will pan women as hard as men. I’ve had testy people imply that I should go easier on women’s movies. I find that incredibly insulting. Are you kidding me? I don’t want to be graded on a curve. None of us want to be a good woman writer.” By caving in to an unwritten code of conduct that promotes a false sense of community over honest discourse, we’re not doing ourselves any favors. (emphasis mine)
I find McCarry’s essay fascinating on several levels. First, to her main point that the book blogging community discriminates, however subtly, against men, McCarry writes, “It goes without saying that male writers are accorded no such coddling… into this misty realm of sisterly solidarity.” It’s refreshing to see a female writer admit that a “sorority of lady writers” actually exists, and that men don’t get a fair shake within it. Perhaps this is as it should be. Gender discrimination, as racial discrimination, has a way of swinging to the opposite pole before settling. We may — I emphasize may — be in one of those counter-swings as regards women in Western society. Nevertheless, the point is valid. The lens of gender “taints” our writing, reading, and reviewing, and may even lead to subtle forms of discrimination.
But perhaps even more applicable is the parallel to be found in the Christian book blogging community. There is, in my opinion, also a “cultlike apologism” that exists among many Christian reviewers, one that “promotes a false sense of community.” Not only are we predisposed to four and five star reviews, the bubble of positivism that creates often leads to an unrealistic view of our art and prevents “honest discourse.” Admissions like the one above (about reading negative reviews first) are often consigned to coffee shops and living rooms. Rarely will Christian reviewers actually confess to struggling through another brother’s book. Why? Because our “obsession with niceness wields a potent silencing force.” Yet, as with any cult, “the cult of niceness” ultimately blinds us to the truth.
Question: Do you think there is “an unwritten code of conduct” among Christian reviewers? Do you consider the average Christian book blogger as an “equal opportunity critic”? And what effects does our “obsession with niceness” ultimately have upon our art?
I learned the hard way. This could be a tale of two book reviews, too, and it supports several of your points. I review a lot of books, and I've published only two really negative ones. One by a man, one by a woman. Both became "the most helpful critical review" on Amazon. The one on the man's book engendered a lot of discussion and comment. The one on the woman's book engendered some of the most vicious hate mail I've ever seen, including from people who hadn't read the book. And from Christians, no less. I finally took that review down. And watched them turn on the next review that was critical.
Glynn, that is fascinating. For one, it may prove that negative reviews can actually be "helpful" for readers. Secondly, the hate mail from the women is comedy. (Sorry, but that cracked me up.) Perhaps that "rosy-cheeked sorority of lady writers' is actually a den of lions, huh? Thanks for your comments!
Mike, I know I've written a few negative reviews of novels and gotten "chastised" in comments for two of them–by women, and the books were by women. I've given equally "bad" reviews for a few male authors. For me, the sex of the author makes zero difference. What I will say in the review is that there no doubt will be those who like the book, and then I give my precise reasons for not liking it including the technical aspects of the writing if necessary.
I rarely do Amazon reviews. I suppose they're valuable, but I rarely read them, so unless an author requests that I put a review there, I don't.
On many Christian review blogs it's apparent the blogger reads strictly for entertainment purposes and is included in that giant focus audience of CBA books. I've read those books written by the authors who feed that audience and some of their books are well-written, professional, and totally tuned in to their audience. There's no reason to criticize some of these particular novels because they're writing to a specific market and hitting their target.
(cont.)
"Nice" is relative. I think integrity and honesty serve the basis for review much better. Being unkind serves no purpose, but if you don't like a book, you ought to be able to say so and why, regardless of whether you're male or female or who the author is.
And, yes, most Christian reviewers lean toward "nice". If I'm not obligated to review a novel and I don't like it, chances are I won't review it. And, no, for the most part I don't think Christian reviewers are "an equal opportunity critic". I don't think "our obsession with niceness" will affect our art at all. If readers want a "real" review, they know which blogs will give them an honest review. The subjectivity of reviews, like the writing of novels, is not an influence on the art itself, but it could conceivably affect some sales.
I haven't experienced it in reviews–I don't read much explicitly Christian fiction, and so do not read or write reviews on it–but I have seen it in Writing Groups. That one's a little harder to find a proper median. Our church's writing group is open to people of all levels. Some of us are published writers, and some are just starting out. And I'll admit that I make an explicit effort to grade on a curve there, as I see it as part of our goal to encourage people who are learning to write, while helping those who are experienced to refine their work. Still, there's sometimes a tendency to be nicer than we need to be, which can lead to unhelpful commentary. It's a problem I don't really share, though sometimes I worry that I go too far the other way.
Donald, I believe you're right about grading people on the curve in certain settings. I've thought about initiating a writers group in our church, but it scares me. Frankly, people are just in different places and you hate to quench someone's aspirations if they're just a beginner. Folks who are publishing professionally, however, should be treated so. Harsher critiques are justified. Thanks for your comments!
I've changed my star ratings: I used to give 1 star (or zero, if the scale allowed) to books I liked a lot as well as ones I didn't like. Basically, I was trying to draw eyes to my review, instead of coming up with some phony shorthand for whether the book is recommended or not. I have since changed all my stars to fives, because the low stars seemed to confuse people. I'm thinking of going back to zero!
Can you tell I really hate star shorthand? I've stayed in 3 star hotels that were horrible. Some of my most beloved movies were "thumbs down" I've been baffled at the popularity of 4.5 star books, and saddened at the misunderstanding of 2 star ones.
Basically it is the words of criticism that move me, not the shorthand gadgets: those just get in the way.
As a reviewer, I know i tend to stray toward the nice side of things. I fight against it more with each passing year, but it is so easy to take other things into account like a stressful week at work and give a book more of a pass then it deserves.
Of course, since I read and review for pleasure, I do tend to weed out books I think I won't like before I read them, skewing the scale toward the higher end.
I have gotten some interesting responses to negative reviews at Amazon and Epinions. One female author (non-Christian) wrote me after a mostly negative review of her third book. I'd given the first two mostly positive reviews. She demanded I change some things in my review that I still stand by. A male Christian author thanked me for taking the time to write a negative review of his first book. He admitted it was by far his weakest book and asked me to give him another chance. I never have gotten around to it, but I was blown away by his attitude toward things.
Mark, you make an interesting point. In my experience the men hands down have appreciated any "criticism" or "negative" comments I've made concerning their work. And the female authors themselves have either not commented or offered an apologetic comment about my reasons for either not liking their novel or a particular part of it. Their "fans" of the book, however, have been unkind, and in one case insulting.
I must admit, I really appreciate the response of that particular male author, Mark, not just for admitting the weakness of the book, but in asking for a second chance.
There might be a desire to give Christian writers a free pass as long the "gospel is preached" in the book (talking about fiction, in this case). That might be somewhat admissable — though I don't think it is at all — if it's a Christian market book. But normal people do not care nor want any kind of gospel preached at them when reading a story. It's disrespectful and it's the literary equivalent of an inside joke and a hi-five with your church buddies.
What gospel is being preached when only believers can understand and respond to it?
Mike, I always read the bad reviews too. But that doesn't mean that I think those reviews are more valid. I usually read some 5s, some 1s and 2s, but ultimately when it comes to buying a book, it's the excerpt that sells me. I read the reviews to find out if the reviewer thought the book held its weight from beginning to end. Sometimes a bad review will actually convince me to buy a book.
Merrie, I agree with you about the excerpts. I am much more inclined to buy a book because the excerpts are good, rather than because 10 people gave it a five star rating. Also, a bad review will not stop me from buying a book, which is, I think reasonable. I mean, if good reviews can't convince me to buy the book, why should buy reviews convince me NOT to buy it? Thanks for the comments Ms. M!
OK, I know I’m way behind in commenting here, but I only recently began following your blog. I’ve found the later posts interesting and though-provoking, so I decided to check out the archives. This post really struck me. I think it is SO true, especially among Christian writers–and not just the women. We feel we have to stand behind each other because we’re all brothers and sisters, but we can’t possibly all love each other’s writing.
I’ll admit that I have reviewed a couple of books, way back when, that I wasn’t crazy about yet didn’t admit that. I did, however, not rave about the books. I merely found an aspect within them that I could turn into a meaningful blog post and referred the reader to the book as my inspiration for the post, and let the reader decide if the book is a worthy read.
I’ve since taken on the attitude that I will either review completely or not at all. If I hate a book, I either say so or just skip reviewing it.
As for Amazon reviews, I tend to read BOTH the 1-stars and a few of the 5-stars. I look at the WAY it’s reviewed at both ends, though. A reviewer who raves will not gain my trust, but an intelligently written 5-star review, that specifies elements that touched the reader, will. Same for 1-stars. Saying a book is a “total pile of dog crap” makes me think the reader is ignorant and just didn’t agree with or didn’t understand the book. But a reader who systematically and intelligently lays out reasons for hating a book–that’s something I take into serious consideration.
And I have to say…one thing that bugs me is the “blog tour” thing, where a slew of authors agree to blog about a fellow author’s book on a certain day. What inevitably happens is an onslaught of. “Finally, the book you’ve all been waiting for!” reviews, or, “I haven’t read this myself, but….” Neither of those makes me want to read the book. If anything, they make me want to dig in my heels and never allow MY book, if it’s ever published, to be part of a blog tour.
Thanks for the great post!
I’m a weirdo: I only read book reviews after reading the book, and I only read reviews with 1-3 stars. That’s largely because I despise spoilers. My other reason is: For myself, as a writer, I don’t think “That rocked!” is anymore helpful than “That sucked!” But I don’t have the space for my personal rant on Amazon reviewers. They bother me, suffice it to say, for the most part.
But my theory is, most books fall into a “3.” I rarely give 5s, and I rarely give 1s. To date, only one book has received a 1 from me—ever.
Per the question, I think in general Christians have this “supportive” thing going on, not just limited to books. I think, though, that trend is changing. It make take awhile, but enough people are tired of “Christianese” and “Jesus Junk” that I think it’ll go by the wayside. Christians lost some ground in the art world. It’ll take awhile to gain it back, methinks.
As far as the gender thing – I’m sure people do it, because people are weird. Personally, I’m, ah, if anything, harsher with female writers than male. Largely because I’m a weird girl. 😛 I’m an equal-opportunity critic, so yeah.
The 5 star rating system can be viewed different ways. For me, 5 stars as 100%. Like a perfect A. Thus, 4 stars is 80%, a low B. And so on. I’ve simply broken it down mathematically. I often rate things 4.5 stars (meaning a low A) or 3.5 (a low C).
If someone rates one of my books as 3 stars, I feel like I barely passed. I do take into account, though, that not all reviewers see it that way.