But Vidal himself is going to be more fun to read, I'm sure. I've been wondering about that as it seems that many of the book reviews I've read lately are plot synopses with a minor paragraph tagged on at the end providing some kind of qualitative comment about the book. A review introduces a new book to the world. It should entertain as well as inform. Ideally, the critic should aim to describe the book as accurately as possible, so that the reader can determine whether it's the sort of thing he or she likes.
Some quotation is essential to give a sense of the author's style or tone.
Judgment is a relatively minor business. It's always nice to find oneself enthralled by a little-known book. In fact, most of the books I really like seldom go on to become best sellers. But I hope people enjoy reading my pieces, and that sometimes they are inspired to go out and buy a book or two. From what I have heard, he is a young American, but no US publisher would print the book.