Remarkably well-written...

A UK journalist has written up a review of my novel about Benjamin Guppy, and within it he's stated that it's 'remarkably well-written.' At first I thought this was a good thing, but then the doubt set in. Is it remarkable because he didn't know I could write? Was he stunned, after meeting me, that I had it in me? What do you think... is it a good thing for your book to be 'remarkably well-written?'

Much better by far than Unremarkable!

If a journalist says your book is 'remarkably well written' ... it counts for a lot and you have to overlook any sarcasm that may be hinted at...

I don't think most people will see it as a slam at all. If it were about my book, I'd wonder, though. Is it remarkable because it's a debut novel, because I'm a Leo, because I went to journalism school? Or what?

Whatever, I think I'd accept it as good.

Malcolm

Bravo, Gina! Just accept it as a compliment and use it for all it's worth. I think I would be telling everyone about it.

I think it is neither good nor bad, she said, sitting on the fence.

Two years ago, I was invited to join 3rd Rail Records forum. I joined and made a few posts. One of the forum members made a post objecting to George Bush's comment about a certain Democratic candidate, saying what a good looking guy he was. Members of the forum felt that this was insulting to black people and was a put down.

I made a post asking if it was insulting to Irish-Americans to comment on how good looking JFK was. Are you all following this?

Anyway, the point is that compliments can be taken either way. Saying that Barack Obama was a good looking guy did not seem to damage his chances of becoming the first black President.

Seems that if you accept a compliment, it remains a compliment and if you reject it, it becomes an insult.

I'm all for accepting compliments!

Pick up any splinters sitting on that fence? I've always been suspicious of compliments and don't like them. An "It's OK" is fine, but I always hated it when I walked into the newsroom after lunch and somebody said, "Good story today." What did they expect, I wrote it.
However, in Gina's case I think the fellow was quite impressed with her and "remarkably well-written" seems like a sincere compliment. He was comparing her work with the mountain of crap he was accustomed to reading.

Dick Stodghill wrote:

However, in Gina's case I think the fellow was quite impressed with her and "remarkably well-written" seems like a sincere compliment. He was comparing her work with the mountain of crap he was accustomed to reading.

I think that's the spirit I'll take it in. I imagine he does get to sift through a load of tripe - he certainly does read a lot by the looks of it - so I'm happy to be remarkable in that regard.