Blurb 'translations'

As most habitual readers know, you should never trust the blurb on a book because
a) it may give away the ending of a mystery;
b) it does give away the ending of any romance novel;
c) you can't trust the review quotes because they are so creatively edited that they often seem to say exactly the opposite of what the reviewer meant to say (i.e. that the book is not worth reading);
d) you can't trust recommendation by celebrities, even famous authors, because: (i) they may be under contract by the publisher to help push unsellable books; (ii) they may be personal friends doing the poor author a favour; (iii) they may be sleeping with the author;
e) who gives a monkey's ... if the book was short-listed for some award?;
f) they're all a load of tosh anyway.

Here's someone who has enough experience with blurbs to attempt to decipher their meaning: What that blurb really means

Comments

Maxine Clarke said…

Very funny article. Have you seen David Montgomery's "blurb machine" at his blog Crime Fiction Dossier? It is very good I think -- how blurbs should be done!

July 05, 2006 6:37 pm

Bibliophile said…

I took a look at the Blurb Machine, and I agree, the guy knows how to give the essence of a book in a few words.

July 06, 2006 8:29 am

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