Codex - Lev Grossman

Has anyone read this book?

Those of you who know me know that I work offshore for weeks at a time. Now and then I get stuck out there longer than expected and run out of things to read. If this happens I usually mooch a book or two to get me by, even if they are not exactly what I would have chosen for myself.

Last trip out I ended up reading "Codex", which actually sounded great from the reviews on the book jacket. Examples: "A rare treat for readers and bibliophiles", "...writes with simple accuracy and settled grace", etc. It sounded like a fantastic book, and there were loads of these glowing reviews.

It was one of the worst book I have ever read. It turns out that Grossman is a book critic. I wonder if fellow critics got together to write special reviews for one of their own. Luckily I didn't pay for this trash but I really felt like some sort of conspiracy was behind the reviews.

Or maybe it's just me?

I haven't read codex, but misleading "blurbs" are no surprise. Authors with the same publisher often gush about each other's work, sometimes even without having read the book in question. It's not really a conspiracy in the sense that it's not a very well-kept secret.