Review- Tips and Sample

Okay, the first thing to do is to think of a book where the main character surprised you. This is quite an important step, because everything that follows is linked to this decision.

Let’s see an example:

[Thirty seconds later] You choose one of your favourite books, The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro.  They made a movie of it with Anthony Hopkins.

So what do you have to include?

1. – write a review of the book
2. – explain what the character did
3. – and why it was surprising
4. – if you would recommend it

It doesn’t make much sense to have points 2 and 3 separate, so for this review let’s say you have decided to keep them together in one paragraph.

So your outline looks like this:

• Title
• Introduction
• Review
• Main Character’s Surprising Moment
• Recommendation

Think of vocabulary and grammar you can use in different paragraphs:genre; historical drama; romance; set in the 1930s; duty; uniform; reserved; butler; gentleman; conflict; a difficult choice; there’s no doubt that; not only but also;

Then think of a title. You want something that is interesting and that helps you to write the review. For example, you could write ‘Review of The Remains of the Day’. But that’s boring and doesn’t help you to write it. If you have a title like ‘The Surprising Truth about The Remains of the Day’ – well, you can already think of a way to write the last paragraph.

Here goes:

The Surprising Truth about The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day seems to be a very simple story. An elderly English butler borrows a car and drives to the coast to meet an old colleague. But is that all there is to it?

In fact, the story is as complicated as its main character, Mr Stevens, is the perfect butler – obedient, skillful, and reserved. He is also secretly in love with the housekeeper, Miss Kenton. However, he is so bound by duty that he never tells her – never even gives her the slightest hint.

The key moment in the book comes when their employer becomes fascinated by the Nazi ideology and tells Mr Stevens to fire two young Jewish servants. Miss Stevens cries, while Mr Stevens carries out his task with no emotion. The writing at this point in the book is sublime – when you know that Stevens is in love with Kenton, his behaviour is mystifying. Why doesn’t he at least tell her that he agrees with her?

Working out the answer to that question is one of the most rewarding quests in literature, and that’s why I strongly recommend you read this book as soon as possible.

(202 words)

It’s not perfect  – you forgot to link the ending to the beginning. That’s why you gave yourself 5 minutes to check and change it!

All you have to do is reword the ending:

Finding out the truth about Mr Stevens is one of the most rewarding quests in literature, and that’s why I strongly recommend you read this book as soon as possible.

That gives a ‘thread’ through the review, from start to finish.