I was surfing book reviews on Amazon and read reviews for some of the Great Books. I read a review for Madame Bovary that said "Emma bovary was a psycho....this was some whack sh*t." Another one was by a TEACHER who said "it is so hard getting kids to read this because its so monotonous and pretentious." Then I read a 1 star review for the Canterbury tales that said "yuck....this book bites." Has this made you lose faith in mankind yet?
2007-12-09 03:09:18 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
ok the whole "losing faith in mankind" may have been a little hyperbolic, it just makes me angry.
2007-12-09 03:20:13 · update #1
Ok elie, since when is the canterbury tales not a "highly liked book." if a book is preserved for hundreds of years as a classic, it's not a matter of taste, its a matter of appreciation of literature.
2007-12-09 06:15:55 · update #2
It really didn't damage anything that wasn't already damaged by wondering why people idolize trash like Paris, Britney, & whorelets from reality shows like 'The Hills' & the playboy bunny show.
I could somewhat understand people having criticisms if they could tell me why they didn't like the book instead of "ew, this was boring & pretentious." That just shows me that they didn't bother giving it a chance & they frankly weren't intelligent enough to even bother reading it. I may not like every book I've ever read, and most certainly not every classic book, but I can at least give you a good reason why I didn't. For instance, the first time I read Anna Karenina, I didn't like it because there were so many parts to it that I, at 10, did not understand. Now I'm re-reading it & I am really enjoying it so far.
At least the Emma Bovary person sounded like they at least read most of the book. (sighs) That's a start, anyway.
2007-12-09 03:16:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
HA! i just left an answer to someone's question "book recomendations" that said i was losing faith in mankind!
it was because i see dozen of "recommend books" questions and every time its the same thing
read harry potter, eragon, nicolas sparks, and dean kootz
WHO?
read the classics, and maybe we can stop the down turn in human intellegence that comes from the degradation of the arts by making "nicolas sparks the notebook the greatest book ever"
everyone is intitled to their own opinions, but there is an obvious factual difference between "great books" that are preserved through time and all this modern dribble that comes out and then gets made into a movie....
sorry if i seemed to rant... i just loved this question because it made me feel like someone else saw what i saw
theres hope yet!
2007-12-09 05:56:17 · answer #2 · answered by ver 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well those are the reviewers opinions, you can't change someones opinion. If they think the book isn't any good, then they think the book isn't any good. The whole point of a review is to tell others what YOU think of the book/product. So if the majority of the reviews are bad ones, then that tells others it's not a highly liked book. That's not to say it isn't a really good book, it just doesn't fit the taste of some. You can't lose faith in mankind just because some people don't share the same taste in books as you.
2007-12-09 05:09:41 · answer #3 · answered by elie101_forever 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
always take Amazon reviews with a grain of salt, they let anyone say anything. Some people reviewing over there are even paid to give 5 star reviews. Your best bet is to still find someone who has similar tastes to you and get their opinion of the book.
I also wouldn't trust that the person claiming to be a teacher actually is, if they are, they aren't very bright. Someone they answer to could see it and decide they are incompetent and then they lose their contract.
And no, it doesn't make me lose my faith in mankind, but it does make me a little sad the some people can really be so stupid in public and not have a clue that there is anything wrong with them.
2007-12-09 03:19:48 · answer #4 · answered by Invisigoth 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes.
I've been answering questions here for hours the way I thought to be most helpful, and have been getting a lot of thumbs down. They are only a point and shouldn't bother me... well, the points don't, it's the look of them, I guess.
So I think many things happening in this world, literary too, are battering on my 'faith in mankind.'
Amazon, though... and this category... They just aren't the places to look for more informed or even through-school-yet opinions on things, you know?
It's all "just folks" here and at Amazon, and with "just folks" will come ALL kinds of folks, not many of whom like Canterbury Tales. (A wonderful piece of writing by the way)
So, we have to just soldier on or move on.
Luck to you--
2007-12-09 03:20:32 · answer #5 · answered by LK 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
That's the problem. People are getting dumb. If they need to look for meaning they give up. Though HP is one of the best series ever written, so many people have read it because it will give you a meaning. Sure you can look further if you choose, but how many people are actually willing to do so? I would say... give up any faith you have in mankind when it comes to Literature. There may be 1 in 100 who actually are willing to better himself/herself intellectually so faith is a bit strong for "mankind"
2007-12-09 03:15:35 · answer #6 · answered by Flugs 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It does seem as though the crowd does share an appreciation for the finer literary works. I guess a few who still do are still out there. I think we should be careful to place our faith in God and not people. Perhaps, each person who cares can attempt to share their love and insight for great literary works with those close to them and when they see how much we enjoy them ...they may follow suit.
2007-12-09 06:15:30 · answer #7 · answered by skyler 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
People don't want to actually have to think about books, they want books that just hand them the answer, the engaging adventure and then be gone. They don't care. Just ignore it ya know? If they want to be lazy idiots, let them.
2007-12-09 03:33:15 · answer #8 · answered by Speak 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋