Ok…Alice Hoffman didn’t like The Boston Globe’s review of her new book, The Story Sisters. I totally understand - criticism can be hard to take, especially when it hacks apart a piece of work you’ve slaved over for goodness knows how long - but hey, everyone is entitled to an opinion. But Hoffman’s reaction won’t be in an updated version of How to Win Friends and Influence People any time soon.
Using Twitter, Hoffman made her feelings known - “Roberta Silman in the Boston Globe is a moron,” she tweeted. “Now any idiot can be a critic,” stated another tweet.
Criticized for her criticism of the criticism, Hoffman defended her actions saying, “Girls are taught to be gracious and keep their mouths shut. We don’t have to…And we writers don’t have to say nothing when someone tries to destroy us.” Then she added a cherry to the top by publishing Silman’s phone number and email address so that readers could could “Tell her what u think of snarky critics.” (Ironically, Silman didn’t get any phone calls as Hoffman got the number wrong.)
Interestingly, Hoffman’s Twitter account (@AliceHof) is currently offline…hmmm But Hoffman has come to her senses, or more likely her publicist has told her to fake it, and has made the following official statement:
I feel this whole situation has been completely blown out of proportion. Of course I was dismayed by Roberta Silman’s review which gave away the plot of the novel, and in the heat of the moment I responded strongly and I wish I hadn’t. I’m sorry if I offended anyone. Reviewers are entitled to their opinions and that’s the name of the game in publishing. I hope my readers understand that I didn’t mean to hurt anyone and I’m truly sorry if I did.
Best,
Alice Hoffman
Does an author have a right to defend his/her work? Of course they do but this really comes across as a “Tit-for-Tat” scenario. Quit with the childish name-calling and make your point in a mature, professional manner - that is of course, if you want to be taken seriously. (In my humble opinion, that is.) And fact of the matter is, not everyone is going to like your work…
About the book in question:
The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman
Alice Hoffman’s previous novel, The Third Angel, was hailed as “an unforgettable portrait of the depth of true love” (USA Today), “stunning” (Jodi Picoult), and “spellbinding” (Miami Herald). Her new novel, The Story Sisters, charts the lives of three sisters–Elv, Claire, and Meg. Each has a fate she must meet alone: one on a country road, one in the streets of Paris, and one in the corridors of her own imagination. Inhabiting their world are a charismatic man who cannot tell the truth, a neighbor who is not who he appears to be, a clumsy boy in Paris who falls in love and stays there, a detective who finds his heart’s desire, and a demon who will not let go.
What does a mother do when one of her children goes astray? How does she save one daughter without sacrificing the others? How deep can love go, and how far can it take you? These are the questions this luminous novel asks.
At once a coming-of-age tale, a family saga, and a love story of erotic longing, The Story Sisters sifts through the miraculous and the mundane as the girls become women and their choices haunt them, change them and, finally, redeem them. It confirms Alice Hoffman’s reputation as “a writer whose keen ear for the measure struck by the beat of the human heart is unparalleled” (The Chicago Tribune).
