For librarians, it’s helpful to have a summary of everything that happens (so they can make appropriate buying decisions) – this is especially necessary in a long-running manga series that may have varying levels of “adult content” in different volumes, and it’s helpful to be warned about the bait-and-switch.

But for the end user / reader? Anyone who’s read the book already knows what happened, anyone who’s not planning to read the book wouldn’t be very interested in a lengthy plot summary, and anyone who is planning to read the book doesn’t want to have the experience spoiled! So none of these readers are looking for a long summary. Whereas a consumer-guide review that evaluates the book’s appeal, or a critical reading that draws out useful insights, would still have value to all of those types.

What confuses me here, Johanna, is that this blog post follows soon after a lengthy Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service review made up of something like 80% plot summary! Which is fine if your primary audience is librarians, I just don’t see how it fits with the policy you lay out here.

I didn’t get quite that strength of tone from the linked piece, but I admit, since I hadn’t seen the movie, I skimmed part of it. I picked up the particular quote that started this thread because I’m guilty of doing that myself, talking more about plot when I have nothing else to say about the book, so it resonated with me.

And I do follow something of a recipe myself, although it usually ends up boiling down to “darn, I haven’t said anything about the art yet, must cover that!”

I’m a little surprised by your comments because your own reviewing guidelines — which I think are excellent, by the way — are much less proscriptive than the essay you quote. What I like best about your essay is that you don’t just give reviewers a recipe to follow (e.g. “five sentences on plot, two sentences on characters, one paragraph about the art”), you outline the thought-process behind a good review. The author of the Shutter Island piece engages with some of the same issues as you do, but the tone is different; he wags his finger at other writers, which I think is off-putting for reviewers who are just getting started.

I guess we’ll have to disagree on the usefulness of such guidelines, then. I’ve talked to and seen a lot of young reviewers who I think benefit from such.

And yes, going too far the other direction is a problem, too.

Moritheil, that’s an interesting approach. I don’t think I’d be comfortable writing that way, assuming my readers already know the book.