The Emperor Has No Clothes
Where to begin? I'll start with a restaurant and segue into literature. Nowadays we have celebrity chefs...iron chefs...a whole lotta chefs...and a lot of us fall victim to the Emperor Has No Clothes Syndrome.
I have this restaurant rule - If I try a new place and my first experience is less than stellar, I'll give the place another try. Everyone has a bad day. Maybe the chef got sick or the sous chef was late or the pastry chef quit...having owned a restaurant myself and worked in and around restaurants since I was a kid (family business), I get it. If my second visit to a restaurant is mediocre or worse...I will not be back. Fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice...well...you can't fool me again...
So there's this restaurant owned by a famous chef. I've applied my two-tries rule and both times, the food has been, not just bad, but inedible. In fact, I was so appalled by my experiences that I got myself an identity on Chowhound and posted a review - and then the Emperor Has No Clothes Syndrome kicked into high gear and other posters climbed all over each other in their haste to call me an idiot, a raving lunatic, a stupid-head-dope, a weirdo, a druggie...they claimed I must have some personal vendetta against the chef - I don't even know the chef - they said I had no taste buds, no taste, couldn't tell the difference between gourmet food and fast food - I couldn't believe the creative insults posters came up with. I was about to delete my post altogether when a few quiet voices spoke up and said, cautiously, I agree with you - I ate at that restaurant and had a similar experience and I've been terrified to post about it - Hey, if what happened to me is any indication, of course they'd be reluctant to post! Shit...I'll never post on Chowhound again!
Now I'm getting into the scary part of my post - the Emperor Has No Clothes Syndrome as it applies to popular literature. I read. A lot. Always have, always will. All genres. I've been reading, literally, since I was eighteen months old. Yeah...rolling-eyes...precocious...I know. Over the past year, my sister has recommended two books to me that have been loved, adored, venerated, and promoted by New York literary critics. I checked out the reviews my sister mentioned and based upon those reviews, I thought, yeah, sounds good, haven't read anything all that great in a while - and I bought the books. Both of them sucked. I mean, they sucked eggs. And it left me wondering, what were the critics reading? What on earth was my sister reading? When I asked her, she came right out and said that she has more faith in critics than she does in her own brain.
I know that when it comes to literature, almost everything is a matter of opinion and personal taste - I'm clear on the concept. But when I did a bit more research on these two books in particular, I found a number of very quiet, cautious, even fearful hands raised by other literary critics saying what I believe to be closer to the truth - that the books were poorly written, but for some reason, the authors were the present day darlings of the publishing world and to write a critical review was to go against the grain, to fight against the current, to risk ostracism and name-calling similar to what I experienced on Chowhound. It would mean stating the obvious, that the emperor isn't wearing any clothes.
This is one of the few controversial posts you will ever read from me. I do not like controversy and I respect authors, legitimate literary criticism, chefs, food writers and food critics. There is a great deal to be learned from a critic who says - I didn't love the book and here's why...or I liked the book a lot but I wish...or I understood the author's intent but the expression of ideas was...
If I was a celebrity chef and somebody had a lousy experience at my showpiece, I'd want to know about it - and by the way - before I posted my review on Chowhound, I did call the restaurant to tell the manager, politely, how disappointed I was in my two experiences - experiences which involved sending multiple courses back to the kitchen to the vast irritation of our server. The manager's response? So what? Read the reviews. Everyone else loves us.
I have this restaurant rule - If I try a new place and my first experience is less than stellar, I'll give the place another try. Everyone has a bad day. Maybe the chef got sick or the sous chef was late or the pastry chef quit...having owned a restaurant myself and worked in and around restaurants since I was a kid (family business), I get it. If my second visit to a restaurant is mediocre or worse...I will not be back. Fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice...well...you can't fool me again...
So there's this restaurant owned by a famous chef. I've applied my two-tries rule and both times, the food has been, not just bad, but inedible. In fact, I was so appalled by my experiences that I got myself an identity on Chowhound and posted a review - and then the Emperor Has No Clothes Syndrome kicked into high gear and other posters climbed all over each other in their haste to call me an idiot, a raving lunatic, a stupid-head-dope, a weirdo, a druggie...they claimed I must have some personal vendetta against the chef - I don't even know the chef - they said I had no taste buds, no taste, couldn't tell the difference between gourmet food and fast food - I couldn't believe the creative insults posters came up with. I was about to delete my post altogether when a few quiet voices spoke up and said, cautiously, I agree with you - I ate at that restaurant and had a similar experience and I've been terrified to post about it - Hey, if what happened to me is any indication, of course they'd be reluctant to post! Shit...I'll never post on Chowhound again!
Now I'm getting into the scary part of my post - the Emperor Has No Clothes Syndrome as it applies to popular literature. I read. A lot. Always have, always will. All genres. I've been reading, literally, since I was eighteen months old. Yeah...rolling-eyes...precocious...I know. Over the past year, my sister has recommended two books to me that have been loved, adored, venerated, and promoted by New York literary critics. I checked out the reviews my sister mentioned and based upon those reviews, I thought, yeah, sounds good, haven't read anything all that great in a while - and I bought the books. Both of them sucked. I mean, they sucked eggs. And it left me wondering, what were the critics reading? What on earth was my sister reading? When I asked her, she came right out and said that she has more faith in critics than she does in her own brain.
I know that when it comes to literature, almost everything is a matter of opinion and personal taste - I'm clear on the concept. But when I did a bit more research on these two books in particular, I found a number of very quiet, cautious, even fearful hands raised by other literary critics saying what I believe to be closer to the truth - that the books were poorly written, but for some reason, the authors were the present day darlings of the publishing world and to write a critical review was to go against the grain, to fight against the current, to risk ostracism and name-calling similar to what I experienced on Chowhound. It would mean stating the obvious, that the emperor isn't wearing any clothes.
This is one of the few controversial posts you will ever read from me. I do not like controversy and I respect authors, legitimate literary criticism, chefs, food writers and food critics. There is a great deal to be learned from a critic who says - I didn't love the book and here's why...or I liked the book a lot but I wish...or I understood the author's intent but the expression of ideas was...
If I was a celebrity chef and somebody had a lousy experience at my showpiece, I'd want to know about it - and by the way - before I posted my review on Chowhound, I did call the restaurant to tell the manager, politely, how disappointed I was in my two experiences - experiences which involved sending multiple courses back to the kitchen to the vast irritation of our server. The manager's response? So what? Read the reviews. Everyone else loves us.
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Great blog! I can see you feel passionate about this Julia. Coincidentally, I had this conversation last week - ignorant posters abusing others on sites such as Chowhound etc. I couldn't understand why they feel the need to do so but my friend enlightened me. Apparently one should ignore the first few posts of this nature - they are usually written by the owner/chef, or their friends. It makes sense that they keep an eye on reviews. Business won't suffer if they can effectively discourage people from posting a bad review! They did so in your case - you won't write another review on Chowhound. If you write a bad review and I disagree with it, I would never abuse you for sharing your opinion. I'd simply say that I disagreed. I think most people would react in the same way. With no vested interest there is no reason to resort to name calling (not that I would, even if I had a vested interest lol).
ReplyDeleteDon't even talk to me about publisher's darlings!!! Recently I ploughed my way through a 600 page novel written by one such being. It got rave reviews which, in hindsight, were very similar to the publisher's blurb. It was on the New York Times Bestseller List! I was really looking forward to reading it. The book is an amalgamation of historical fact and modern murder mystery. I was fascinated to see how the author brought the two strands together. The short answer is that he didn't - not in any meaningful way. The historical section of the book became so cumbersome that I kept forgetting the plot of the modern story - a feat in itself because that plot line was so thin! I couldn't just enjoy the historical aspect either because the author freely admitted he had taken poetic license with it. All suspense was lost switching between the two. At times I couldn't understand which character was speaking and had to stop to figure it out!! Anyway, I digress. lol The point is I felt so strongly about it that I tried to write reviews but each site said that the review was 'pending approval'. No prizes for guessing that they never appeared. Any negative reviews which did appear were couched in approval, i.e. the start of the review was good, they put the negatives (of which there were quite a few) in the middle and ended on a high. They were all done this way and I wondered if posters knew that someone on the other end skimmed the first few lines only!! lol Because of it's wonderful marketing machine, this book has probably sold millions of copies - all money in the coffers methinks!
I think constructive criticism is one of the best learning tools.
ReplyDeleteYep. There is no accounting for taste. Or foibles.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for critics--and book eviews, I tend to ignore them.
Yes, I do read religiously the NYT Book Review every Sunday. First. Before any news or editorials. In fact, that little tabloid is the very reason I subscribe to the NYT way down here deep in the heart of sw Texas.
But I use the section for knowledge of what's coming out, esp. in non-fiction, and aside from Marilyn Stasio's column, I tend to skim the reviews for fiction. They DO tend to choose the lit faves of the moment, aka in my world, called those authors who stick to the ceiling for the moment, My Spitball Theory of Publishing.
Of course, the most valuable parts of the NYT are the lists. They tell you so much about trends, even in mass market fiction, and in non-fiction they tell you what hot buttons you might strike in fiction and find an audience.
A new book on Napoleon? A new bio of another famous English king's mistress? These point to currents in fiction taste as well.
And as for food critics, I recently delved into Ruth Reichl's tell all, and had so many laughs--plus an education.
Guess what? Not once did I get ANY idea of how she judged the food. Service, yes. Ambiance, oui. But food, nada, baby. Zippo.
Which says to me, one man's nectar is another man's merde.
Great responses ya'll! I didn't realize that the restaurant owners and their friends got together to shout down bad reviews! To my mind, there's a valuable lesson to be learned from polite criticism. I love the spit-ball theory - and yes, I look at the lists to see what is selling and what is trendy and I write what I want to write anyway. Can't help it - if I tried to write something trendy, everyone would know I was faking it. Ruth Reichl is hilarious but you're right - I don't know how she judges food - it's more her tale of how to get in and out of a restaurant unrecognized!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I've been stuck reading 600+ pages of merde on occasion, and wondered why on earth somebody thought it was the greatest story ever told!
Wow! What a great post and wonderful responses! I'll make my comment brief. Sadly we are living in an age of such sensory inundation that many people have switched off and become dependent on others to figure the world out for them. Critical thinking is becoming a lost art. Embrace it, practice it and encourage others to think for themselves!
ReplyDeleteXXOO Kat
Definitely a great post! It's sad how people have to bash others for having an opinion. Isn't this the country of free speech? I personally would be thankful for the negatives of a book, restaurant, etc, but would probably make up my own mind.
ReplyDeleteI think your post is fabulous, dear. Gutsy as well, because many people will nay-say you regardless, if they disagree with what you say.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I got a pseudonym going on a political news blog that appeared to simply be encouraging some mud slinging and bad blood. Anyone who dared to contradict the going thought was slammed and called ridiculous names.
I put my name as "Crying in the wilderness" and left a three paragraph comment. I expected to totally be blown out of the water. I went back three days later to find three comments made after mine...all supporting my thoughts. Not a single nay-sayer. Why? Because I quoted the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and stated that although I was raised to believe in freedom of speech, and freedom of expression, I was also raised in a home that taught me to be respectful of others' opinions. That I truly respected the opinions of those who had posted their anger and their vitriol, but that it was time for them to take a look at their own posts and realize what they were showing their own background to be.
I was floored that no one started in on me.
Thanks, Anonymous. I too was raised to believe in free speech - we do live in America, after all. It doesn't matter if I disagree with you, you have the right to express your opinion. Regardless of my personal feelings, I respect your rights and your liberties and I will fight to defend them. Yeah...I try to stay away from political blogs.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, dear! Very thought-provoking. Thanks for the sweet comment over on my personal blog.
ReplyDelete