tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18229735.post8809031084875355110..comments2013-10-10T19:05:04.210+00:00Comments on A very cool cat: A very cool cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09541835783210339113noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18229735.post-5523879379959412582011-12-23T14:34:20.507+00:002011-12-23T14:34:20.507+00:00Thanks to the trend started by Arindam Chaudhuri, ...Thanks to the trend started by Arindam Chaudhuri, it has become the in thing to take umbrage at anyone that opposes your point of view, your work and so on. And if the ridiculous reforms to "censor" the Internet come through, goodness only knows what it will mean for the free press!<br /><br />In all this, clearly, there is one person who comes out looking like an idiot. Well, maybe two if you count the publisher! Sorry, but you cannot air your wares in public and then not expect a reaction from the same public. And knowing how subjective tastes can be and what complex beings humans are, it is completely ridiculous to expect to be unanimously showered by praise. As a writer, I'm trying and failing to imagine a scenario where I can be so supremely confident of the superior nature of my work that any whiff of criticism would send me racing for my soapbox! But then, my head probably wouldn't fit through the door...<br /><br />Here's how I understand what a reviewer does: reads a book as a reader (an unbiased reader, not as the "author's friend, confidant, or publisher") and reacts to it, letting us know whether, in their opinion, this book is worth reading. Unbiased doesn't necessarily mean objective (reading is a highly subjective pursuit in any case) -- it only means someone without a hidden agenda. <br /><br />Frankly, if you can't get used to the idea that some people won't like your work, you shouldn't display your creative work for public consumption. There's no right or wrong in liking or not liking a piece of art, music or writing. I can't stand Tolkien's work, but that doesn't make him any less great or my reading choices any less valid or fun. You love Carl Hiaasen and I don't, but it doesn't mean we can't be friends...<br /><br />At the end of the day, what worries me is if are at the threshold of a new age of intolerance and if this spells the end of the free (for what that's worth these days anyway) press.Payalhttp://writeside.net/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18229735.post-12270849953407803672011-12-23T13:27:22.049+00:002011-12-23T13:27:22.049+00:00I read both, the review and the response. There wa...I read both, the review and the response. There was nothing egregious about your review. It was all perfectly professional and well done. <br /><br />The author’s rejoinder smacked more of someone who felt stung by an informed view of his work. It was the sort of response that suggests that he felt somewhat exposed. Equally, it is the author's right to feel aggrieved and say so. <br /><br />In some ways, I may be the wrong person to comment here because I take such an overarching cosmic view of everything. Having been at the receiving end of reviews and having written some myself I understand the dynamic. In the end though, it is all completely transient.<br /><br />More to the point, you should tell Mr. Desai to take a chill pill (to use a sophomoric expression), if you should tell him anything more at all. As for Mr. Desai, it is just a review.<br /><br />I remember a long time ago a filmmaker had come to my office to protest something I wrote. All that I told him was, “It is your misfortune that I was assigned to review your film.” He just walked off.<br /><br />The point is reviews do not matter in the long run just as nothing else does.-- MayankMayank Chhayahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18433071842764460405noreply@blogger.com