Heathfield & District

December: A View of Reviews

This month the writers did reviews, and from the off it appeared that it was a novel exercise for some members of the group (no pun intended). Philippa as convenor, and both a writer and a reader of reviews, asked how else people decided to buy a book or see a film or play. She was enlightened: people also went to bookshops and browsed, or accepted word of mouth from friends. Books proved the most popular choice, although Molly provided a report on a weekend jaunt that included a night in a hotel and an eclectic concert about which she was unswervingly enthusiastic. Paula wrote an Amazon-style brief review of a book on a topic (Bletchley Park) she knew well and which she found wanting. She didn’t pull her punches. Tim, was a bit crafty: at the end of an appreciative account of the experience of an army surgeon on the North African campaigns of the second World War, we learned that his father was the author and the family the publishers: not much scope for criticism there then. Gill, Tessa and Philippa also reviewed books they recommended. Gill’s (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin) and Tessa’s (The Elegance of the Hedgehog) were well-known best-sellers. Philippa’s, which was written for a health charity website, was about the contentious issue of assisted dying as it applies to those suffering from Alzheimer’s, and would definitely not be a best-seller. Our reviewers provided an outline of the plot and the characters (in the case of Philippa’s non-fiction, the arguments of the author), some examples from the text and an idea of whom the books might appeal to. It might be interesting in the future to review something we definitely didn’t enjoy?