It Was Awful
May 1, 2026As a review, saying something is awful is not only crushing to the person who created the book, film painting etc., but it's really unhelpful. Fingers crossed, I never get a review like it! Saying you liked something or thought it was good is actually little better. Okay, you can polish your nails and feel pleased for being praised, but you still won't know why: what did you get right? what didn't hit the spot?
I recently saw the film of Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet. I absolutely loved the book, and I enjoyed the film, but that doesn't mean I found it perfect. The close-ups were a little too close for my comfort, and I think it would have been easier for those not familiar with the book to keep up with the passage of time (and more realistic) if the characters' costumes had changed. Some scenes felt over-the-top, and I felt it would have helped to build emotion if the actors had held back a little in some places: if you start at the heights you have nowhere to go except down or risk straying into the ridiculous. I loved the shots of the woodland, the way the atmosphere of Elizabethan England was captured and the climax. However, the friend that I went with hated it. I found it hard to believe that she hadn't liked anything. When I asked her, she told me she found it too morbid. The problem is, if this had been a review, there would have been no one to ask.
Saying something is good or bad is merely an opinion, which, of course, everyone is entitled to, but it reminds me of when a TV presenter told an artist friend that his work was good. His response was to ask her what qualified her to say so. Maybe it wasn't very gracious, but it has made me think twice about saying it myself ever since without explaining why.
Of course, authors, especially indie authors, need reviews, and the likes of Amazon look at the number they have rather than whether the reviews are positive or negative. We are grateful that anyone should take the time to write a review or leave a rating, but if you are going to that much trouble, why not go a little further and say what prompted your judgement? That way authors can improve, and readers can judge better whether something is likely to appeal to them.
Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Reviews
