Writing a Book Review
Cambridge English (B2-C2)
How do you choose what books to read?
Think about it—what actually convinces you to start reading a particular book?
A friend can’t stop raving about it?
It’s topping every bestseller list?
You saw the movie version and loved it?
You have to read it for school?
You stumbled across a glowing review online?
Chances are, at least one of these has influenced your reading choices.
Now, let’s talk about that last one: reviews.
What’s the big deal about reviews, anyway?
A well-written book review is more powerful than it looks. It does more than share a few thoughts. It actually helps shape the way books are discovered, discussed, and remembered.
For readers, reviews are often more trustworthy than flashy blurbs. Why? Because they come from real people. Someone like you, who picked up the book with no agenda other than curiosity.
In a world full of endless book choices, reviews are a kind of compass. By the way, one possible writing task in the Cambridge English B2, C1 and C2 exams is to write a review.
Four key success factors of a review:
• being able to express a reasonably sophisticated opinion
• using a range of vocabulary to describe what you are reviewing (plot, dialogue, characters, etc.)
• being able to summarize
• giving recommendations
Our task today is to read a C1-level review, examine its structure and content, and see what makes it work.
Here we go!
The Girl Who Played with Fire
The Girl Who Played with Fire is the second novel in the Millennium trilogy by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson. A thriller, set in modern-day Sweden, it immediately became an international best seller.
In this book the same main characters from the first book reappear, journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the extraordinary girl Lisbeth Salander, a freelance investigator. (Plot summary) This time Lisbeth herself becomes the suspect of a triple murder. Three people are shot on the same day, and her fingerprints are found on the murder weapon. She goes quickly into hiding, and Mikael, whose life she saved in the previous book, is determined to prove her innocence. Devastated by the fact that two of the murder victims were colleagues of his, but convinced that Lisbeth cannot possibly have been involved, he works first on his own, and then with the police, to discover what really happened. Meanwhile Lisbeth, carefully keeping out of everyone’s sight, is making her own investigations…
The great strength of this book, and what makes Larsson’s books so different from other recent detective fiction and thrillers, is the character of Lisbeth. Most famous fictional detectives or investigators tend to be either middle-aged policemen with marital problems, female forensic scientists, or middle-aged male intellectuals. Lisbeth, however, is a young slightly autistic girl from a broken home, who is also a computer genius. She is an intriguing character, and in this book we find out a lot more about her, among other things who her father is, and why she spent her teenage years in a psychiatric hospital. My only criticism of the novel would be that the early sub-plot about Grenada is not very relevant and could have been cut.
Not only is this a complex and absolutely gripping novel, but it also tackles real problems in society, and most unusually I think for a sequel, is even better than its predecessor. For all lovers of crime novels and thrillers the Millennium trilogy is a must.
Let’s scan the review again. In which paragraph (if any) can you find the following information?
- the strong points of the book
- the basic outline of the plot
- what happens in the end
- where and when the story is set
- the weaknesses of the book
- whether the reviewer recommends the book or not
- how good the English translation is
- who the author is
- who the main characters are
- who the book is suitable for
TIPS for writing a book review:
- Organize the review into clear paragraphs.
- Make sure you use a suitable style, neither very formal nor informal.
- Use the present tense when you describe the plot. Using participle clauses will help to keep it concise.
- Try to use a range of adjectives that describe as precisely as possible how the book or movie made you feel (gripping). Use adverbs of degree to modify them (absolutely gripping).
- Remember that a positive review will include some criticism as well as praise.
- Say who you would recommend the book to.
Important:
When writing a book review, give your reader a brief idea of the plot (without giving away the whole story!). Try to make your description as concise as possible so you have enough space to share your own opinion — the most important part of the review.
Layout:
Paragraph 1: The title and the author. Where and when it is set.
Paragraph 2: The plot, including information about the main characters.
Paragraph 3: What you liked, and any criticisms you may have.
Paragraph 4: A summary of your opinion and a recommendation.
GRAMMAR: Participle Clauses
Take a look at this:
Because he is devastated by the fact that two of the murder victims were colleagues of his, but he is convinced that Lisbeth cannot possibly have been involved, he works first on his own, and then with the police, to discover what really happened. Meanwhile Lisbeth, who is carefully keeping out of everyone’s sight, is making her own investigations…
Now, compare the passage above with the extract from the second paragraph:
Devastated by the fact that two of the murder victims were colleagues of his, but convinced that Lisbeth cannot possibly have been involved, he works first on his own, and then with the police, to discover what really happened. Meanwhile Lisbeth, carefully keeping out of everyone’s sight, is making her own investigations…
You must have noticed that the writer left out some words. As a matter of fact, he uses participles (devastated, convinced, keeping) instead of a typical “subject + verb” structure.
Why use Participle Clauses?
- to simplify sentences
- to reduce two sentences to one
- instead of this structure: conjunction (after, as, when, because, although, etc.) + subject + verb (e.g. Because he is devastated… => Devastated by the fact…)
- instead of a relative clause (e.g. who is carefully keeping => carefully keeping)
- after prepositions (e.g. On hearing the news, they started to celebrate.)
In fact, participle clauses come in three forms: present, perfect and past.
1. Present Participle Clauses (-ing)
Arriving at the party, we saw Ruth standing alone. (= When we arrived…, we saw…)
Running across the field, I fell and hurt my ankle. (= While I was running…)
Not wishing to go out that night, I made an excuse. (= Because I didn’t want to go out that night, …)
2. Perfect Participle Clauses (having + past participle)
Having won every major judo title, Mark retired from international competition. (= After he (had) won…)
Having completed the book, he had a holiday. (= When he had completed…)
3. Past Participle Clauses (-ed / 3rd column of the irregular verbs)
Faced with a bill for $10,000, John has taken an extra job. (= Because he is faced…)
Looked after carefully, the plant can live through the winter. (= If it is looked after…)
Important!
The subject of the main clause is usually the same as the subject of the participle clause.
Look at this sentence:
Jumping out of bed, John’s clothes were nowhere to be found.
Who is jumping out of bed? It turns out that John’s clothes jumped out.
How can we fix the sentence?
Remember, the subject should be the same in both clauses:
Jumping out of bed, John couldn’t find his clothes anywhere.
However …
It is possible to have a participle clause with a different subject:
Our parents being away for the weekend, my brother and I had a party.
WITH is sometimes used to introduce a different subject:
With both my parents working all day, I have to cook.
PRACTICE
Rewrite the underlined phrases to make them more concise using participle clauses.
1 As she believes him to be the murderer, Anya is absolutely terrified.
2 Simon, who realizes that the police are after him, tries to escape.
3 It was first published in 1903, and it has been reprinted many times.
4 It is set during World War I, and it tells the story of a young soldier.
5 When he hears the shot, Mark rushes into the house.
And … that’s all, folks! I hope you found this lesson helpful.
Jelena
P.S. If you’d like to study English with me and put all this knowledge into practice, send an email to cambridgeenglish.ellen@gmail.com. Tell me about your experience learning English and what you hope to achieve next, and we’ll see if we’re a good fit as a study team. 🙂
ANSWER KEY
1 Believing him to be…
2 Simon, having realised the police…
3 Published in 1903, it has been…
4 Set during World War I, it tells…
5 Hearing / Having heard the shot, Mark…
Sources and references:
Latham-Koenig, C., Oxenden, C., English File Advanced, OUP, 2014