The internet and the rise of honesty

Before the advent of the internet, and the rise of the blog, writers' only direct access to the public was largely through publishers. Accordingly, writers who relied for their living on publishing their works were highly constrained, both consciously and subconsciously, from expressing views which they knew or sensed would not be popular with a relatively small coterie of publishers and editors. Now perhaps this direct access to readers can liberate literary criticism from its straitjacket. 

There are good signs that this is happening. To give only one example, recently Scott Pack at the Friday Project was asked to be a guest on The Book Depository. I can thoroughly recommend his lucid critique of such sacred cows as J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, Virginia Wolff's Mrs Galloway, and Ian McEwan's truly ghastly Amsterdam, for which McEwan received the Booker prize. One does not have to agree with him in detail to support thoroughly his right to express his own heartfelt feelings. Meanwhile, it is wonderful to see such views expressed with cogency and conviction. I hope the habit continues to spread.