Have you ever wondered how to write a book review? If there is any element that differentiates what a literary review is from what it is not if it follows a fixed structure or can be carried out freely…
Literary blogs have become fashionable, as well as bookstagrams or Instagram accounts that show books and comments on them, but how do review books correctly? Do these new media do quality literary criticism? There would be a lot of debate around this topic, we are going to try to shed some light on it and offer a guide with 10 steps to review a book.
What is a book review?
A book review is a criticism issued by someone who has read it. It is not just an opinion, since it tries to offer a summary of the work (where the ending may or may not be included) in which a judgment is included. Nor is it limited to saying whether the person offering this verdict liked it or not, it offers various arguments with which to justify it.
A literary evaluation is also offered to take into account technical aspects, to which is added the personal opinion. In short, a book review is not a criticism as such, but to convey a personal experience about specific reading and the result it has generated.
What is the structure of a book review?
Up to five parts can be detected in a book review, although it is possible to do without some of them:
- Introduction. In this phase, the author of a book review puts in the background who is going to read this opinion. It can be a review of the genre that predominates in the work, of the author’s career, etc. It should not last long since it can make whoever reads this trial disconnect.
- Technical data. At this point, the author of the review introduces us to the book he has read: which publisher is in charge of publishing it, the number of pages, and other qualities such as the cover design, whether or not illustrations are included, format, etc.
- Summary of the work. At this point in the review, what we have to do is summarize it, that is, give details of the plot (in the event that it is a novel or story), or the type of verses that are offered and their theme (in the case it is about a collection of poems).
- Personal and technical assessment. After giving clues about the book, in the review, it’s time to talk about the reading experience. Has it been entertaining, is there anything to improve? Can it be criticized for any specific reason, such as too many misspellings? Is the plot too flat? Are the characters believable?
Conclusion. Would you recommend the book? Is there an audience that can enjoy this work more than another? It is time to tell the public, through the review, if this reading can change someone’s life, brings something new to the genre, or at least is distracting.
Characteristics of a good review
Knowing the structure of a book review, anyone can jump into writing one. But, how to get one to be good and help promote work? These are the points you should keep in mind:
- understandable language. Although at some points you have to use technical language, you have to make sure that the majority of people can understand it. Unless it is a niche reading, you have to think about the general public.
- Brief and concise. There is no need to beat around the bush or fall short. But the truth is that circumlocutions do not like anyone and lengthening for nothing ends up boring. Especially when giving technical details about the book, the review should be specific. On the other hand, the personal assessment must be very clear instead of embellishing the speech.
- Objective assessment. The criticism made of the book, through the review, must be based on logical reasons and not be just a text indicating whether it was liked or not. If the argument has seemed slow, or flat, examples must be given to justify it.
10 steps to writing a literary review like a pro:
We will start with an introduction where the title of the book, the author, the genre, the publisher, and the date of publication is mentioned, it may be useful to do it in the form of a technical sheet, also adding an image of the book cover. From there, we will continue with the following steps:
1. Place the author and the book within his work
To begin with, talking about who the author is and his literary career can be good. It puts us in a situation about whether we are dealing with a new writer or someone with greater baggage of published titles. In the event that it is someone with a career, it will be necessary to briefly review it and if we are dealing with a book that follows the same line as the above or breaks with what it had published to date.
2. Judge the book and place it in the literary context
It is time to make a first assessment of the book, a summary of what it offers and what we have felt from reading it with a sincere opinion. But in addition, we must place the book in the literary context. For example, if it corresponds to a current literary trend, if it follows the line of some other author, if it reminds us of a certain time or if it is something totally groundbreaking compared to what is currently on the market.
3. We break down the best and the least good with reasoned arguments
After the first impression, we must break down some ideas about the book, always with reasoned arguments, give an idea and the reason for that idea. When reviewing a novel, we can talk about the power of its descriptions, the definition of its characters, the narrative rhythm, its plausibility and interest, the intensity of the dialogues, its ability to engage, if something squeaks in your tone used…
4. Inform, educate, and entertain
The reader of the review can be a person with a very diverse profile, we have to try to get them to read it completely, have it on our blog for as long as possible, and in short, create an informative review of the book. For this reason, in addition to informing you about the book, we have to make the review agile and entertaining so that you do not get bored and leave at the first opportunity. If we add to this the possibility of educating him about the literature we are talking about, it would be the perfect combination.
Interspersing the text with some graphic elements such as infographics, images from the book, subtitles, or a prominent quote can help speed things up.
5. Hold back on exposing the synopsis and plot
So far we have only talked about expressing impressions and opinions about the book, its structure, its writing, its development or its correction, but we must try to reflect the minimum on the synopsis and the plot so as not to reveal it, it is something that the reader must discover. user with reading the book if he is convinced by the criticism.
6. Style, meaning, and symbolic load
Although we have already been able to talk about style previously, it is interesting to connect it with the symbolic load that the book has, if it is consistent, if taking advantage of the argument the author seeks to give a specific message, if it has a meaning between the lines or a specific purpose.
7. Thought of the author
The Decalogue of Babelia speaks of reflecting what the author thinks about the subject of the book. Logically, talking to the writer and reflecting some of his thoughts on the book would bring an extra. However, we understand that to make a more objective review, the ideal is to keep a distance, but we can reflect on the thought or the possible intention of the writer when it comes to shaping this book in particular and on the subject it addresses.
8. Critic’s Thought on the Subject of the Book
The literary critic not only offers his vision of the book, he can also allow himself the license to offer his own vision of the subject he addresses, although always in a reasoned and consistent way.
9. “No hitting, no drooling”
A literary review should be an objective critique of a book. You have to offer an opinion and give some reasons for it, but it should not be an attack on a specific author with which to vent our anger, nor an exaggerated set of praise for the author of the book. We can be very admirers or hate an author, but we must try not to show that in the review, which should focus more on the specific book.
10. Avoid advertising adjectives
Formulas of the type: the best book, the most interesting of the year, an unrepeatable novel, the best that has fallen into my hands… be careful with advertising adjectives that should be left for advertising, with literary criticism we must give reasons why it is good or why it is bad, but it must be the reader who gives the adjectives.
The literary review is intended for the reader
Beyond this scientific aspect of literary criticism, there has also been a criticism aimed at the general public through reviews, criticisms and recommendations of books that have been made in the media, whether they are cultural and literary magazines or the media. general information in its culture sections.
In this sense, in the 19th-century spaces for literary criticism were promoted and authors such as Mariano José de Larra or Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer practiced it. At the beginning of the 20th century, publications also emerged that served as a visualization for important literary currents, as happened with the Litoral magazine for the Generation of 27.
And of course, if we ask ourselves what a book review is about, we must bear in mind that the concept has also evolved over time and the structure of a review today is not the same as it was a century ago.
With the arrival of the internet, digital magazines, and blogs, literary reviews have been proliferating to a greater extent in these new media, finding a gap that was increasingly reduced in paper publications.
Therefore, a blog review of a book can be compared to this work done by the specialized literary critic of a newspaper, although without losing sight of its neutral character and following a critical method so that the review is not turning into an advertising piece of praise so that the reader buys the book, something that is also quite common.
To conclude on reviewing a book
You may already be close to all of these points we’ve touched on in your reviews or follow a different structure but still make great reviews. The method can be very diverse, what is really important is to assume the review of a book with sincerity, objectivity, and professionalism without being guided by influences.
In fact, there are blogs of very young people who are doing things quite well and who are also innovating not only with very careful texts but also with very original ways of scoring and very striking design elements or video reviews on channels like YouTube, everything that enriches literary criticism.
In short, the review of a book must be approached with knowledge of the work we have in hand. In addition, it is important to provide it with ingenuity and an educational tone without falling into the error that our blog becomes a simple advertising showcase of praise for every book that falls into our hands.
In the market there is good literature and bad literature, that has been, is, and will be like that and the audience knows it. But you also have to keep in mind that there are good and less good blogs and better reviews than others.
We at the book publisher Ghostwriting Solution collaborate with different literary blogs and we are open to proposals to receive reviews of our books by putting copies of our titles in the hands of bloggers. It is true that there are a majority of positive reviews, but others have also not been so good, something that the publisher understands as totally logical, since each reader has their tastes and in our label, we have authors and titles with very different profiles.
