"Conservatism brings with it all kinds of strange obligations."
What does that even mean?
I don't like the New York Times Book Review any more than any of you, but I must object, as a conservative, to the dismayingly knee-jerk penchant of many leftists for labeling as conservative or right-wing, the people, ideas, and writings they deem provincial and narrow . The claim that the Book Review of a left-wing paper like the Times has "moved rightward" is risible -- yet not at all surprising to me, since I have come to expect claims like this. The type of close-minded cultural mentality that you regard as the sole domain of conservatives actually cuts across political perspectives and affiliations, at least within the Arts. There are few who can match such politically-left film-critics as David Denby and John Simon for bourgeouis elitism. On the other hand, I can read with great enjoyment the fascinating film-criticism of Robin Wood, who is ostensibly my political opposite, but who puts those two clowns to shame for his intellectual rigor and eager openness to the various realms and niches of the Arts.
Having said that, let me say that the quality I despise most in the Times's book review critics is the stench of self-love wafting up from the pages of their "reviews." Most of these reviews serve as vehicles through which they can demonstrate their smart, sassy wit and cultural superiority. Only a fraction of the space alloted for the critical piece is actually spent on critiquing the book.
Take, for instance, many of the write-ups on Stephen King's books. What you get are soliloquys in which the critics wax philosophic on everything wrong with King, interspersed with a smattering of snide comments. A classic example of this was Dave Itzkoff's review for "Cell." When the article was done, I felt I had received little insight into what the book was about. It would have been nice if he had spent less time cracking jokes about King's annoyance at bad manners and more time analyzing the novel.
Well, that's it. THE END.
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2007 | 3 |
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