I know I should post this as a comment to some of the reviewers, but I do think a bit of reflection on what constitutes a valid critic and what does not might help all of us Amazon buyers/readers.I find it very disturbing and annoying to read so many negative critics on grounds such as: "this book lacks the wit of the others, by the same author", "he is repeating himself", "I was expecting some laughs" etc.
What this comments tell me is that there is a lot of people out there, that came to regard the literary creation the same way they regard their fast food consumption: as a producer-consumer relationship to be appraised by standards such as uniformity (the same burger, wherever you go), predictability (the same shopping/reading experience) etc. The author is, thus, transformed into a brand.
Sure, there are many authors, specially in America, that gladly adhere to this "contract" with their audiences, but this is certainly NOT something we should regard as a desirable norm for all authors. Revisiting the same material/subject many times; producing works of radically different tones/moods; amplifying the significance of personal experiences -- none of these are valid grounds for appraising, either positively or negatively, a literary work.
What would we say of Shakespeare's work if we adopted such criteria as measures of quality? Should he write only histories, and not comedies or tragedies? Should we condemn "King Lear", on the grounds that it is "too tragic" and lacks the wit of "The Merry Wives of Windsor"? Or that Lear was actually "exaggerating things"?
This is even more valid in the case of autobiographical works, such as Burroughs' book. It is entirely the author's prerogative to employ the tone that he feels inclined to, as well as the subject matter that he deems necessary to cover.
I am certainly not suggesting that Burroughs' work is as good as or as important as Shakespeare's. I'm not even saying it is good. But I do believe we would read much better, useful and intelligent reviews if we all used sensible criteria for our comments.
