I recently confronted someone on one of these endless book review
sites (Goodreads, etc.) who gave Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde a 1-star review. The
review consisted of little more than an expression of annoyance that she had
even picked up the book; it was boring, it had no interesting characters, and
worse still, it wasn’t even scary! She
dismissed it with a one-star review and warned others not to bother with it,
since she had no idea why people considered it a classic. I asked her if she didn’t think it was a bit
harsh to give a book that had survived well over a century and was beloved by
millions (and had created a cultural myth that had given rise to countless
copycats, such as The Hulk) a mere one-star.
The reviewer hotly responded that it was “her right” to give the
book one-star, and that “you can’t censor my reviews!” She went on to say that “I hardly think I’m
going to hurt Stevenson’s book sales, so what does it matter?” Clearly, my “attack” on her (as she called
it) was based more on capitalism than aesthetics: once assured that his books
would continue to sell, and make money for his estate, I should rest easy and
withdraw my petty scruples about damaging the book’s reputation. Isn’t it all about money, after all? Clearly that’s what pissed her off so
much...that she had spent, what, a few bucks for the book (or the e-book) of
the novel only to be so bitterly disappointed?
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