Books Quote by Louis Menand
“One of the functions of literary criticism, or reviewing, generally - and I, most of my reviews actually are not about literature - but one of the functions of that is basically the sort of Consumer Reports function of letting readers know whether this is something they want to read.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: "The Function of Literary Criticism" in The New Yorker, 2005
Criticism acts like a consumer guide, informing readers whether a work aligns with their interests, beyond pure literary analysis.
In simple terms: Reviews help readers decide what to read.
Key Takeaway
Use criticism to guide reading choices.
Themes
literary criticism
consumer guidance
reading habits
information
evaluation
Mood
analytical
skeptical
curious
Type
critical
informative
When to use this quote
- book clubs
- library acquisitions
- personal reading lists
- editorial work
- publishing
Key Concepts
aesthetics
media literacy
decision making
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you balance guidance with personal discovery?
- When should you trust a review?
A Different Perspective
Criticism may bias opinions, limiting open exploration of texts.
![“I tossed up whether I'd see [the critic] or not: I knew too well the pompous phrases of his article, the buried significance he would discover of which I was unaware and the faults I was tired of facing.” quote by Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dc1/graham-greene-441_literary-criticism_i-tossed-up-whether-i-d-see-the-critic-o_72760.jpg)
![“[According to Holmes], ‘Every year if not every day we have to wager our salvation upon some prophecy based upon imperfect knowledge. While that experiment is part of our system I think that we should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe and…” quote by Louis Menand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/656/louis-menand-8583_death_according-to-holmes-every-year-if-not-ev_403601.jpg)
