Thursday, December 21, 2006

Reviewing the pre-reviewed

Sven Birkerts wrote a fine article in Sunday's Globe Ideas section about the task and psychology of reviewing a pre-hyped book, in his case "Sacred Games," by Indian novelist Vikram Chandra, due out here in January. Birkerts writes of flipping through the "advance reader's copy" and snapping to attention upon seeing that the publisher planned a $300,000 marketing budget. That's a lot of dough by any standard, he thinks, quite rightly. Suddenly his perception of the book is changed -- and he hasn't started reading!

I had this very experience once, when I wrote a review of a novel whose debut author had received a $1.4 million advance. (I'll never forget that figure.) As it happens, he was also Indian, Hari Kunzru, and had written a sprawling epic, "The Illusionist." It was difficult to write that review, my first ever for a serious publication, without letting what are called off-the-page considerations creep in. A lot of soul-searching occurred, having little effect on the review I hope, but certainly standing in the way of writing it. I had to smile and nod at this bit of Birkerts's:

I had weighed Western civilization in the balance and found it wanting. Now I lay down on the couch, set a pillow on my stomach -- the novel really is that big -- and actually opened the cover....

Posted by Evan Hughes at 08:53 AM

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