ICYMI, @cosmo_globalist ran a review by my father, David Berlinski, of Pankaj Mishra's essays. It's an outstanding review. He does what a reviewer ought, in my mind, and which far too few do correctly:
1. He reads the book, carefully, and tells you what it says.
1. He reads the book, carefully, and tells you what it says.
2. He places it in its larger literary and historical context.
3. He checks the author's work--the references, the claims--extremely carefully.
3. He checks the author's work--the references, the claims--extremely carefully.
4. He tells you what he liked and didn't like, and why.
There's a maddening tendency, among book reviewers, to do none of that. Far too many reviewers use the book as a one-paragraph excuse to write a hobby-horse essay that has nothing to do with the book.
There's a maddening tendency, among book reviewers, to do none of that. Far too many reviewers use the book as a one-paragraph excuse to write a hobby-horse essay that has nothing to do with the book.
Often, I suspect the reviewer didn't even read the book. So if you'd like to review a book for @cosmo_globalist, this is the kind of review we're looking for (although we'd prefer not to have 100+ footnotes, because they're a torment to format properly.)
(And we'd also recommend your review be about half as long--readers in 2021 don't, alas, have long attention spans. But we'll run a longer piece if it's as good as this.)
Also, his review is very funny and well-written.
Also, his review is very funny and well-written.
Would you like to review a book for @cosmo_globalist? Send us a suggestion.
Oh! Here's the link to the review. I forgot the most important thing. claireberlinski.substack.com/p/a-passage-fr…
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