Hating on PW
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6530009.html?9=northline
It's not exactly a starred review, is it?
No, I think it's safe to say that Publishers Weekly is not a fan of Willy Vlautin's Northline. Though I am passionate about it, as regular Hoyden readers know, I can acknowledge it's not a book for everyone (Jan Karon fans need not apply) and as a bookseller I won't be trying to sell it to everyone. But while I am happy to civilly agree to disagree with those who might find fault in a dispassionate way-yes, it is quite dark, yes, it is tough to read in parts-I don't have much patience for reviews that throw off the gloves this way.
So, I feel I must respond in kind-emotionally and from the gut.
It must be nice, anonymous PW reviewer person, to have led such a charmed life. What a pleasure it must be to have never been down on your luck, confused about where you are going or hooked up with the wrong person. To never have drunk too much or hurt yourself intentionally, either as respite from chilling numbness or because you at least want a pain you can control because you can't control the pain that makes you to end it all. How lucky to always be confident about your worth and secure in the knowledge of your worth to others. It's a shame that your time was wasted by having to read and review a book that so painstakingly chronicles the struggles of a character with such feet of clay.
In short, I'm shocked that such a powerful and prestigious periodical would hire reviewers with so little imagination and empathy, those qualities being the bare minimum for being a reader in the first place.
It's not exactly a starred review, is it?
No, I think it's safe to say that Publishers Weekly is not a fan of Willy Vlautin's Northline. Though I am passionate about it, as regular Hoyden readers know, I can acknowledge it's not a book for everyone (Jan Karon fans need not apply) and as a bookseller I won't be trying to sell it to everyone. But while I am happy to civilly agree to disagree with those who might find fault in a dispassionate way-yes, it is quite dark, yes, it is tough to read in parts-I don't have much patience for reviews that throw off the gloves this way.
So, I feel I must respond in kind-emotionally and from the gut.
It must be nice, anonymous PW reviewer person, to have led such a charmed life. What a pleasure it must be to have never been down on your luck, confused about where you are going or hooked up with the wrong person. To never have drunk too much or hurt yourself intentionally, either as respite from chilling numbness or because you at least want a pain you can control because you can't control the pain that makes you to end it all. How lucky to always be confident about your worth and secure in the knowledge of your worth to others. It's a shame that your time was wasted by having to read and review a book that so painstakingly chronicles the struggles of a character with such feet of clay.
In short, I'm shocked that such a powerful and prestigious periodical would hire reviewers with so little imagination and empathy, those qualities being the bare minimum for being a reader in the first place.
posted by Sam @ 6:58 PM
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