Published: 10/8/10
Book: “The Network” by Jason Elliot
Review: The Inconstant Gardener” by Tobin Harshaw
Tobin Harshaw introduces the book as different from the typical spy thriller. He says, “Forget Borndian femme fatales and bournian superassassins”. Right off the bat he has caught the interest of the reader by telling the reader that it is an ideal thriller but is less action like in a bond or bourne book.
The tone that Harshaw takes is a relaxed friendly tone that works well in a book review because it sounds like the reader is talking to a friend, someone who has reliable good source of information. His use of diction reinforces this feeling, He uses words like fun, toting, swell that have a joking relaxed connotation. The syntax he uses is natural sounding like he is talking to the reader in an earnest way also. Harshaw draws a connection to the audience using an image of the office and the water cooler to further demonstrate that this is a discussion between friends.
The tone that Harshaw chose to take is a strength of this review, it allows the reader to trust the review more easily. The downside of the review though, is that it does not include anything that he did not like about the book, it is only a positive view of the book.
This review is from a formalist perspective, because it does not take into account the writers history other than stating his prior book. It deals entirely with the text and what he thought of the book without analysis from a different perspectives. This is actually another strength, it is only about the book so that the reader can read the text without a preconceived notion of what the meaning is based on.
This review is a good example of how the techniques we have learned in class can be used effectively to create a certain tone. The class discussed the use of diction, and syntax, both are evident in this review. It is also similar to some of the sheets that the class received in it's earnest and friend-to-friend tone.
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