Monday, May 5, 2014

Enthusiasm and Spoilers: A Thin Line



This is a hysterical sketch by one of my favorite comedy shows, Studio C, about Spoilers. So first, watch this.



This is how my sister is with books. I kid you not. I’m not even allowed to tell her who my favorite character was, if the narrator is funny, or read her a clever one-liner from the dialogue. I can make absolutely no mention of ANYTHING from a book that she hasn’t read, because from that she can detect something vital about the plot.

This has begun to affect my reviews. Sometimes when I’m reviewing a book, I want to talk about how intricate the plot is, how subtly the author brought about an unexpected twist, and how unexpectedly mind-blowing every aspect becomes. But these are things that I restrain myself from saying.

Why?

Because if I tell you that there is an awesome twist ending, if I tell you that I thought I had it figured out halfway through the book and I was WRONG -even without revealing specific details or ‘spoilers’- you’re going to expect a twist. You’re going to dissect the story as you read it, picking out the red herrings for what they are, and quite possibly coming to rest on the actual twist ending now that I’ve warned you about how completely off-guard it caught me.

It might not be mind-blowing for you. That twist ending might not be so twisty.
So when I say ‘This book is amazing’ or ‘This book blew my mind’ I am purposefully restraining myself from giving too much away, from spoiling your own mind-blowing experience.

Then again, maybe that’s just me. Is everyone this fastidious when it comes to books and reviews? I could be a weirdo at the wrong end of the pool, but I’d rather tell you it’s a ‘quality book’ then to inadvertently spoil what was such an enjoyable surprise to me.

(Previously published at http://amandakthompson.tumblr.com/post/77401944261/book-enthusiasm-and-inadvertent-spoilers)

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