Where Have All the Book Reviews Gone?
The decline of book reviews in the US media is likened to a prophetic 1981 short story by Donald Barthelme, which satirized the potential for technology to replace human critics. The recent shutdown of The Washington Post's Book World marks a significant loss for America's literary scene.
In 1981, Donald Barthelme published a short story in The New Yorker that satirized the potential for technology to replace human book critics. The story, 'Challenge,' described Japanese book-reviewing technology that could produce 'sleek, space-efficient' reviews. Barthelme's story was prophetic, as the US media has seen a significant decline in book reviews. Many newspapers and weeklies have cut back on their book coverage, and The Washington Post's Book World was recently shut down. This decline is significant for America's literary scene, which relies on serious and fervent criticism to thrive. The loss of book reviews has gone largely unnoticed, but it marks an inflection point in America's literature.
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