One-star review

[pegkerr]

Ganked from sleigh, papersky, and rezendi; I believe John Scalzi started the whole thing, challenging other writers to post one-star reviews they got on Amazon. I'd actually posted about this previously, but if you missed it the last time around, here it is again:

[There are no one-star reviews, by the way, for Emerald House Rising. Hurrah! The lowest review of that book that I got was one person who marked it four stars but said she really meant about 3.5.

The Wild Swans, out of twenty-six reviews, has one one-star review, as follows:

2 stories: Puritans and Gays

First off, I want to say I liked the author, I just didn't like the subject of this book. It should have been two books, in my opinion.

It was frustrating to read 2 entirely different stories, that did not seem to have anything to do with each other. So much so, that I found myself skipping ahead so I could contine story 1, then going back to pick up on story 2.

Story 1: The age-old Swan story with a Puritans-persecuting-others twist. The self-righteous, selfish, lying clergy who with many of their foaming-at-the-mouth followers, were ready to hurt anyone not like them.

Story 2: This one was so depressing! It rehashed the terrible time in the 80's when AIDS was first discovered. This whole story was about homosexuality with religion thrown in. Sad and cruel.

The author wrote well, but I would have never picked up this book if I had known what the subject material was. I was expecting a nice Swan story. So if you are looking for a happy book, look elsewhere.

I should also give a tip of the hat to someone who gave the book three stars ("I may have been overly generous") but titles the review "Typecast, Contrived, Lacking in Subtlety." Gee, what would the reviewer have said if he/she really hated it? Read that review here.

Edited to add: trogon pointed me to another review at Library Thing that I hadn't seen before. This is a 1/2 star rating out of five!

The portrait of AIDS in this book is very early 1980s (everyone is going to die; sex is bad, yadda, yadda). It left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Comments

[rivka.livejournal.com]

It was frustrating to read 2 entirely different stories, that did not seem to have anything to do with each other.

Yeah, Peg, why did you combine two separate stories that had absolutely nothing to do with each other and nothing in common? Didn't it occur to you at the time that it was kind of a weird thing to do?

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

I remember the rather baffled silence on the other end of the phone as I tried to explain the concept of the two-different-stories as one to my agent.

It was all the billboard, as I explained in the author's afterward, the one that said, "Silence Equals Death." It was a sudden blinding insight that left me almost breathless, that the famous AIDS slogan fit both stories so perfectly, the 17th century one and the 20th century one. It wasn't until that intuitive flash that I started researching AIDs and Elias' story started to bloom in my mind, six months after I started thinking about writing Eliza's.

But it was maybe two months later, when I was complaining to Pamela Dean that I couldn't decide which story to write, that she who told me the obvious solution: I should write both. In one book.

Obvious in hindsight, perhaps, yes, but until that very moment, the idea of writing both simply hadn't occurred to me.

This took place at one of our Shakespeare reading group meetings, in Pamela's kitchen. I remember very distinctly the sensation of my head going all explody at the very idea, and my saying very loudly and plaintively in a panicky sort of way, calling out to Pat Wrede (my writing mentor, who was in the other room) "Pat? Pat??!!! Oh my god, my book just morphed on me!!!"

[aome.livejournal.com]

Apparently no one taught him/her to look at the blurb on the back cover before deciding whether or not to read? O_o

[rachet.livejournal.com]

*snort* I thought the same thing.

[bohemianspirit.livejournal.com]

This whole story was about homosexuality with religion thrown in. Sad and cruel.

O.K., Peg, this is a Message from the Universe: Write one more novel. Make it about heterosexual atheists who never get sick. Be sure to include a few Nice Swans.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

*dies laughing*

I'll get right on it!

BTW, did you see my earlier post about Ministry of Magic's new song, "The Bravest Man I Ever Knew"? I thought of you when I heard it, figuring you'd love it.

[bohemianspirit.livejournal.com]

No, haven't been online much all week. Will check it out. However, I *did* see your post about Fiona and you laughing about a song about Death Eaters and sex, and thought that you MUST share with Fiona the link (did you get the e-mail I sent?) to "The Disillusioning of a Death Eater." I think she'll get a kick out of it. But, WARNING: I believe it contains one use of the F-word, which I'm sure she's never heard before...

BTW, speaking of my fics, I forgot to include a link to one of the stories in the AU post-war Duluth series: "Pizza Party," in which Severus celebrates his 39th birthday in proper introvert fashion. ;-) http://community.livejournal.com/snapedom/71899.html

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Yes, I did get the email, and I've started reading the stories. I'd already read some of them previously. (I'll add this new link to the batch).

Yeah, Fiona would probably get a big kick out of that story. (She's read The Wild Swans; she probably won't get freaked by one F-word).

Let me know how you like the song.

[bohemianspirit.livejournal.com]

O.K. Glad your e-mail isn't thinking we're all Spam, now.

she probably won't get freaked by one F-word

Tongue was firmly in cheek as I typed that. As you probably guessed. ;-)

BTW, we have some rubber chickens in the toy section of my Cub. Interested???

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

BTW, we have some rubber chickens in the toy section of my Cub. Interested???

Now I'm laughing again. I don't know if our administration would allow it. But OMG the idea is awfully tempting!

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Which reminds me, I need to post the latest chicken dispatch.

[bohemianspirit.livejournal.com]

If you think you're laughing, you should see the smirk on my face every time I grab one of the damn things around the neck to put it back on the shelf...

Even naughtier, check out the advertising for the new Indiana Jones with a big life-size picture of Harrison Ford as Indy grinning and brandishing a whip. Across his, um, hips, is a big banner reading: More to Explore!

I am not making this up.

And there is not enough money in the Universe to induce me to sell the rights to my dignity in that way. ;-)

[(Anonymous)]

What do stupid people know? This is the greatest book ever written, I have to read it at least once or twice a year!

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

*blushes* Thanks!

[trogon.livejournal.com]

Have you ever looked at your reviews on LibraryThing? Two of the three for The Wild Swans (http://www.librarything.com/work/134182) are very positive (and give it five stars) but the third is absolutely mystifying -- he trashes the book because "the portrait of AIDS is very early 1980s". Strange.

(I hope I don't discourage you by bringing a negative review to your attention -- I loved Wild Swans!)

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

No, I wasn't aware of those reviews. Thanks for the pointer. And *laughs* a 1/2 star rating! That's even lower than my one-star rating at Amazon.

[aeditimi.livejournal.com]

The portrait of AIDS in this book is very early 1980s (everyone is going to die; sex is bad, yadda, yadda). It left a very bad taste in my mouth.

I don't know what made me laugh more, the complaint about the audacity of you writing a period piece (and should I say that your portrayal of the church in Eliza's story is *soo* 17th century, with the witch hunting and the superstition and the closeted clergy, yadda yadda), or the many, many homoerotic freudian jokes I could make about the second sentence.

I'm glad you have a good sense of humor about these reviews, and that you know how many of us love it!

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

Did Swans come out about 10 years ago? I remember mentioning to you that a "10 years after" interview with you would be a good thing, but I think that was before I was freelancing for Lavender.

Speaking of rubber chickens I bought a small rubber chicken that, when you squeeze it, "boings" out with a liqiud filled bubble complete with yolk.

It is one of the grossest things I own.