It’s worth it (today anyway)

Posted on | February 24, 2005 | 8 Comments

For an early career researcher, writing book reviews is part of the deal. On the face of it, they’re pretty thankless exercises. They don’t pay, they don’t count as ‘output’ when you’re trying to prove your work ethic, and to be any good they take a big chunk of time. I’ve done a bunch of them in the past few years. As a grad student it’s a convenient way to get free books, keep up with new work and practice your writing skills. Some readers may remember that it was about this time last year I received an indignant email in response to one of them. This Major Figure in Sociology and Cultural Studies, whose vitriol made me shake for an entire weekend, claimed the review accused him of things I didn’t even understand. Certainly I had objected strongly to the book – not so much for its content, but the way it had been conceived. I thought the form and structure of the text fundamentally misrepresented the project of the figure being discussed. I still do; but acknowledge that in the conventions of the review ‘genre’, I went about making the case in an inappropriate way. With better advice beforehand, this may not have happened. But as a result, this Major Figure will forever know me as a scalp-hunter, or the term he used as he shook my hand when we finally met: “Daughter of Satan”.

That was one of the ugliest experiences I’ve been through in academia, and it took me a long time to regain the courage to write another review. Unfortunately I’d already accepted an invitation to do so because I desperately wanted to read the latest work of one of my favourite theorists. I spent so long trying to write something that would adequately reflect my sense of the book’s significance that the deadline had to be extended indefinitely. But today I feel like a little karmic circle has done its full pivot. This morning I had an email from Eve Sedgwick waiting in my Inbox, thanking me for reviewing her book so generously. And I feel on top of the world.

Category: Research

Comments

8 Responses to “It’s worth it (today anyway)”

  1. Mark Bahnisch
    February 24th, 2005 @ 1:24 pm

    What’s Sedgwick’s latest book, Mel? She’s wonderful…

    I filled out my cv by writing masses of book reviews from 99 to 01 – Journal of Sociology, Aust Journal of Pol Sci, Journal of Aust Pol Econ, Overland, International Journal of Critical Psychology, and review essays in JOS and JAPE. I had a lot of fun at first – partly because I liked many of the books I reviewed. I also found that when I went to conferences, book reviews were often the only things in journals read so it was a neat way to meet people who’d read my work.

    I got a bit sick of it in 02 – with the result that a book that was sent to me for review then is still sitting on my desk causing occasional pangs of guilt. The number of email addresses in the occasional reminders I get suggests I’m not the only one who’s being very dilatory.

    I think it’s worthwhile, though – often you can make a point very sharply. Rightly or wrongly, I conceived a lot of my reviews as opportunities for me to intervene in debates rather than just as reviews. And it’s a bit like reviewing papers (where the impulse to vitriol is constrained by the same vitriol one’s own papers receive from “anonymous” reviewers whose identity is often easy to pick), or chairing conference sessions, it’s one way a young academic can establish themselves as someone who contributes to what used to be called “service to the discipline”.

    The only vitriol I ever received was as a result of a review of a book by Mark Latham. I conducted a bit of a campaign against his “Third Way” politics in reviews over a few years. He made a speech where he accused me of being “a typical lefty academic born with a silver spoon in his mouth”. I counted myself lucky to get away with that from Mr Latham – I’m sure if he met me I’d have copped more…

  2. mc gregg
    February 24th, 2005 @ 1:35 pm

    Way to go, Mark!

    Here’s the review again for any new readers:

    http://www.electronicbookreview.com/v3/servlet/ebr?command=view_essay&essay_id=greggce

  3. danny
    February 24th, 2005 @ 2:28 pm

    Good on ya Melissa, it was a great review that moved the book onto my to-read list! I had a similar good experience with a theory superstar earlier in the year and it’s nice to find out they’re as appreciative of insightful support as anyone… and I guess a certain level of experience means they’re not that hung up on status they can’t drop a nice e-mail to a young researcher.

    Also maybe a good point about the value of doing positive reviews for developing networks.

    Though that said, I’m sure your vitriolic Major Figure did a bit of shaking himself when he read your review, and I think that’s a good thing even if in retrospect if you think it was inappropriate. Sometimes, people are wrong and/or unsympathetic toward issues you care about, and they need an unapologetic kick up the arse.

  4. Glen
    February 24th, 2005 @ 3:15 pm

    lol! Who was the Major Figure?!?!?!

    Mark,

    I liked McKenzie Wark’s take on one of Latham’s books. I am currently reading From the Suburbs, have you reviewed that book?

  5. Mark Bahnisch
    February 24th, 2005 @ 3:21 pm

    Nope, Glen.

    But my review of Latham and Botsman’s on line at:

    http://www.jape.org/jape49_reviews.pdf

  6. Mark Bahnisch
    February 24th, 2005 @ 3:23 pm

    Neat review, Mel!

    Sadly, I won’t get to read the new Sedgwick til after the phud lands…

  7. danny
    February 25th, 2005 @ 12:33 am

    Glen – Check the Daughter of Satan’s CV and you should be able to tell. I think he deserved it myself!

  8. Glen
    February 25th, 2005 @ 6:11 am

    ;)

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