A book was chosen for my Sunday book club, and I guessed I might not like it from the title… but I shouldn’t be put off by such things should I? As a writer I struggle to find a title which will interest and intrigue, be original without being so unusual that it also discourages potential readers. There is also the mater of personal likes ad dislikes, one person might think a title is really excellent, and another might think it is commonplace. So I put aside my spontaneous thoughts and sat down to read the book; it had been chosen by someone because it was really meaningful to them, had helped them through many difficulties, and had been recommended to many friends.
My initial reaction to the first few pages was similar to my reaction to the title; but again, thinking of my readers, I wouldn’t like them to be discouraged because I’d failed to enrapture them with my opening scenes. I ploughed on, the occasional ‘tut’ and groan escaping from me, because in my opinion it was trite and simplistic; I could not engage with the characters, I was not moved by their predicaments, I found their speech irritating, and the sentiment expressed anodyne. OK, so I didn’t like it, it wasn’t a book for me, it was a book in translation so maybe some of the charm of the original had been lost, but I just couldn’t finish it.
Today it was book club; as you can gather, I had quite a strong opinion on the book, but the person who recommended it loved it…. how could I say what I really thought, it would be like criticising someone’s child. I was honest, I said I didn’t like it and couldn’t engage with it and it ‘was not my sort of thing’ but I was tactful, I really didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.
Lois Elsden 