July 1st, 2009 / 8:39 pm
Snippets
Snippets
pr—
Alice Hoffman has apologized, but the fact that she tweeted angrily and made public the reviewer’s EMAIL AND PHONE NUMBER is beyond weird.
I will never buy or read an Alice Hoffman book. That was wrong. That’s all there is too it.
I will never buy or read an Alice Hoffman book. That was wrong. That’s all there is too it.
That shit is CRAZY. And even though she apologized, can you think of her the same again? I think I’ve read something of hers- ages ago- not sure though. I mix her up with a Catholic writer who wrote Charming Billy- Alice McDermott that’s the name.
I can deal with trashing on a bad review, but posting the person’s phone number was way out of bounds. I mean, wow.
I can deal with trashing on a bad review, but posting the person’s phone number was way out of bounds. I mean, wow.
Adding: as a reviewer, I agonize over giving negative reviews. I hate it. There have been times when I couldn’t say a single positive thing about a book. In those cases I have often just killed the review. I hate trashing a book (especially by a small press author) but sometimes i have no choice (if I am to be honest and ethical) but to say negative things about a book. In those cases, if the author wants to call me a prick or a moron, I’m cool with it. I wont get pissed. I know how it feels to have a reviewer trash you. But (and this is a major ‘but’) if they posted my phone number on-line, i would call an attorney and go after them. End of story. That shit is out of bounds.
Adding: as a reviewer, I agonize over giving negative reviews. I hate it. There have been times when I couldn’t say a single positive thing about a book. In those cases I have often just killed the review. I hate trashing a book (especially by a small press author) but sometimes i have no choice (if I am to be honest and ethical) but to say negative things about a book. In those cases, if the author wants to call me a prick or a moron, I’m cool with it. I wont get pissed. I know how it feels to have a reviewer trash you. But (and this is a major ‘but’) if they posted my phone number on-line, i would call an attorney and go after them. End of story. That shit is out of bounds.
I feel guilty about writing bad reviews.And I posted that joke “i read a short story today too motherfucker” cause that guy wrote a bad review of a story of mine…which was sort of bitchy of me—
But yeah, the posting her email and phone number and egging her “fans” on- my guess is she lost some with that. It’s truly unstable behavior.
whats funny is i think she got the phone # wrong
whats funny is i think she got the phone # wrong
Oh that’s fucking hilarious !
Oh that’s fucking hilarious !
“I’m sorry if I offended anyone … I hope my readers understand that I didn’t mean to hurt anyone and I’m truly sorry if I did.”
Notice how she doesn’t really apologize to Silman. This is the typical evasive non-apology of a politician. “I’m sorry *if*, I’m sorry *if*…”, not “I’m sorry for what I did.”
“I’m sorry if I offended anyone … I hope my readers understand that I didn’t mean to hurt anyone and I’m truly sorry if I did.”
Notice how she doesn’t really apologize to Silman. This is the typical evasive non-apology of a politician. “I’m sorry *if*, I’m sorry *if*…”, not “I’m sorry for what I did.”
Right?
And also- the “she gave away the plot! That’s what really bothered me!” That is such horseshit. Most serious reviews discuss things in full—she was angry and went a bit sociopathic. And she’s not owning up to it very well.
Here’s what I’d like to hear-
“I’m sorry I am sort of a disturbed person with serious pride and rage issues.”
hoffman should be more punk rock. why delete the account? why apologize? she should just be all like, “yeah, I said it?! pfft I wrote The Color Purple bitch!” and we’d forget that she didn’t write The Color Purple but probably has met Whoopi Goldberg.
hoffman should be more punk rock. why delete the account? why apologize? she should just be all like, “yeah, I said it?! pfft I wrote The Color Purple bitch!” and we’d forget that she didn’t write The Color Purple but probably has met Whoopi Goldberg.
exactly, PR, this is reason 224334 that a half-assed apology isn’t worth doing. Great link, by the way. I really liked comment number 5, cut/pasted below:
Posting the reviewers home phone number on Twitter and encouraging her readers to hassle the woman is unforgivable. Here’s a writer whose books are bestsellers and who, in this day of dwindling book coverage, still gets reviewed. In other words, she needed to have swallowed it — or dealt with it in a more professional way. The review wasn’t even that bad. And the apology is lame. She’s not apologizing to the book reviewer, to whom she should apologize, but rather to “anyone” she might have offended, which I read as potential book buyers. Here’s hoping book review editors think twice in the future before assinging one of her books. Save that room for someone who needs — and deserves — the attention.
exactly, PR, this is reason 224334 that a half-assed apology isn’t worth doing. Great link, by the way. I really liked comment number 5, cut/pasted below:
Posting the reviewers home phone number on Twitter and encouraging her readers to hassle the woman is unforgivable. Here’s a writer whose books are bestsellers and who, in this day of dwindling book coverage, still gets reviewed. In other words, she needed to have swallowed it — or dealt with it in a more professional way. The review wasn’t even that bad. And the apology is lame. She’s not apologizing to the book reviewer, to whom she should apologize, but rather to “anyone” she might have offended, which I read as potential book buyers. Here’s hoping book review editors think twice in the future before assinging one of her books. Save that room for someone who needs — and deserves — the attention.
That’s what that other dude did, the French one who said he wished nothing but ill-will on the reviewer and would rejoice every time his career had a slip or something like that. When they asked he was like, NOPE, NOT SORRY, I MEANT IT. That’s awesome, really, although: taking bad reviews seriously is bad form. Someone can test me by giving me a terrible review when my Publishing Genius Press thing comes out here in the next couple months.
That’s what that other dude did, the French one who said he wished nothing but ill-will on the reviewer and would rejoice every time his career had a slip or something like that. When they asked he was like, NOPE, NOT SORRY, I MEANT IT. That’s awesome, really, although: taking bad reviews seriously is bad form. Someone can test me by giving me a terrible review when my Publishing Genius Press thing comes out here in the next couple months.
this is funny. i heard that sebastian horsley once took a shit in a cartier box and sent it to someone who gave him a bad review. thats more like it. use your imagination!
this is funny. i heard that sebastian horsley once took a shit in a cartier box and sent it to someone who gave him a bad review. thats more like it. use your imagination!
Ha! The man who got crucified. I love it- here’s my shit in a box for you. Much more imaginative.
She’s being a crazy fakeass bitch about the whole thing. I’m a big fan of punching people in the face. Or spitting in faces. But if I were the reviewer and she had posted my phone number? In that case, the reviewer should punch HER in the face. There was a rumor that Richard Ford spit in Colson Whitehead’s face after Whitehead wrote the nastiest on the cover of NYSunday Times Book Review review I have ever read- basically accusing him of being a slaveholder or something. It was bizarrely personal and hateful. Also- I don’t believe the rumor about the spitting.
Ha! The man who got crucified. I love it- here’s my shit in a box for you. Much more imaginative.
She’s being a crazy fakeass bitch about the whole thing. I’m a big fan of punching people in the face. Or spitting in faces. But if I were the reviewer and she had posted my phone number? In that case, the reviewer should punch HER in the face. There was a rumor that Richard Ford spit in Colson Whitehead’s face after Whitehead wrote the nastiest on the cover of NYSunday Times Book Review review I have ever read- basically accusing him of being a slaveholder or something. It was bizarrely personal and hateful. Also- I don’t believe the rumor about the spitting.
I couldn’t pull up the whole review but one blog said this was the final paragraph of the Whitehead review:
“These stories, placed back to back, start to show their strings, although puppet master is perhaps not the way Ford would describe himself. When asked last year by The Kenyon Review what kind of relationship he has with his characters, Ford replied: “Master to slave. Sometimes I hear them at night singing over in their cabins.” Singing. So that’s what that was. It sounded like whining.”
I couldn’t pull up the whole review but one blog said this was the final paragraph of the Whitehead review:
“These stories, placed back to back, start to show their strings, although puppet master is perhaps not the way Ford would describe himself. When asked last year by The Kenyon Review what kind of relationship he has with his characters, Ford replied: “Master to slave. Sometimes I hear them at night singing over in their cabins.” Singing. So that’s what that was. It sounded like whining.”
whoa. that’s awesome in a “hey, thanks for entertaining me as a passive observer” sort of way!
whoa. that’s awesome in a “hey, thanks for entertaining me as a passive observer” sort of way!
Nice find. So, I had it wrong..regarding in which way he insulted Ford- but I do remember it being one of the highest profile mean-spirted reviews I’d ever read.
Nice find. So, I had it wrong..regarding in which way he insulted Ford- but I do remember it being one of the highest profile mean-spirted reviews I’d ever read.
That’s an awesome ending to a review.
That’s an awesome ending to a review.