you snobby bastards

I think its funny when the book reviews on back covers seem to be in competition with the text between covers. These reviewers are out to prove something: they are worth just as much as the published author.

They try to argue beyond that. Their lofty phrases seem to imply that they are more important, for their words determine the worth of the others. They pass jugment and exist outside of the bounds of the novel. They deem the work worthy and present it to us, the reader, simply becuase it pleases them.

This is the plite of the other brother, the reviews banished to the back of the book. They are forced to dazzle and impress in a few mere lines, sharing space with the featured piece, yet confident in their independence, or rather, transcendence above the subjects of their reviews.