Who will criticise the critics?

Shinie Antony writes in DailyIndia.com

Everyone is a critic. There is no formal training school for writing literary reviews. No formal standards. But we know all about that. We can clearly see from some of the reviews in our newspapers, that often the writer has not even read the book, or else what goes for a review is merely a synopsis of the story. The prerequisite of reading a book before doing a review is also probably one reason for the lack of local book reviews in our local papers, it being easier to source a review of a foreign book using Google.

Shiny Anthony writes: "Okay, we know where Indian writers come from. They come from the West. But where do critics come from? What are they made up of really? And, more importantly, who will criticise the critics?"

And on book reviews she says: "... Either they are all-out gush or a nasal nasty. A book page is the newspaper's cover-up of its corporate concerns with a pseudo-cultural cough. The space so sacred that nuances are martyred in the marvellous new world of cut-paste editing and the ensuing sloppy scribbles served sunny side down."

Methinks she should be grateful for the pseudo-cultural cough. The local newspapers don't even pretend. But this I like: "A book is a body of thoughts. A critic is meant to ponder upon these thoughts, not parade his paranoia and prejudices, however arresting they may be. Books are to be picked up just like people, listened to and enjoyed or be cast aside with finesse."

Full report: http://www.dailyindia.com/show/88661.php/Can-read-will-review---who-will-criticise-the-critics