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sleepy_stardust's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.75
great book! just may be difficult to follow all the names, and some parts can drag.
millibear's review against another edition
informative
I wasn't aware going in that there was going to be, like, social theory! I don't agree with all of Sinykin's thoughts in "Big Fiction", but they were great accompaniments to the super interesting publishing history.
bethreadsandnaps's review
3.0
I was excited to read this since I'm a huge reader of contemporary fiction and would like to know how we got to this point in publishing.
Unfortunately, this felt like a pile of research notes that focused heavily on publishing players from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s and rarely moved beyond that. For instance, the author has a fascination with Doctorow's RAGTIME. I have never even heard of this book, but apparently it was extremely pivotal in publishing with its high advance. Sure, it's worthy of a line or even a few in this compendium, but does is it worthy of as much space as it got?
This reads like Mad Men for publishing. It was misogynistic (a woman PhD only being a typist!) and racist.
I like the Conclusion because it focuses on 2000 through now. I would have preferred a chapter or two on each decade, but instead we are so stuck in that 1950s-70s era that I have no points of reference for that all those chapters almost felt meaningless to me.
Jason Epstein, for example, was talked about a lot, but the reader is never really introduced to him in a way that makes the reader care.
Unfortunately, this felt like a pile of research notes that focused heavily on publishing players from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s and rarely moved beyond that. For instance, the author has a fascination with Doctorow's RAGTIME. I have never even heard of this book, but apparently it was extremely pivotal in publishing with its high advance. Sure, it's worthy of a line or even a few in this compendium, but does is it worthy of as much space as it got?
This reads like Mad Men for publishing. It was misogynistic (a woman PhD only being a typist!) and racist.
I like the Conclusion because it focuses on 2000 through now. I would have preferred a chapter or two on each decade, but instead we are so stuck in that 1950s-70s era that I have no points of reference for that all those chapters almost felt meaningless to me.
Jason Epstein, for example, was talked about a lot, but the reader is never really introduced to him in a way that makes the reader care.
toniclark's review against another edition
5.0
Thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Columbia University Press for an advance copy of Big Fiction: How Conglomeration Changed the Publishing Industry and American Literature, by Dan Sinykin.
This is a comprehensive look at the changes in the publishing world over the last few decades, particularly with respect to fiction, but other genres, as well. With the consolidation of many independent publishing houses into multinational conglomerates have come sweeping changes in publishing practices — in what gets published and by whom. I’m not involved in the book trade, but have a great interest in how fiction gets published in this country. And in particular, the leveraging of profits over writing quality. As smart as it is ambitious, this book sill be eye-opening to those of us who love books. It’s hard to be okay with the business side of publishing. We cling to our illusions, I guess. But there’s a lot to learn here, a lot we should all be aware of, and Sinykin is a wonderful guide to the territory.
This is a comprehensive look at the changes in the publishing world over the last few decades, particularly with respect to fiction, but other genres, as well. With the consolidation of many independent publishing houses into multinational conglomerates have come sweeping changes in publishing practices — in what gets published and by whom. I’m not involved in the book trade, but have a great interest in how fiction gets published in this country. And in particular, the leveraging of profits over writing quality. As smart as it is ambitious, this book sill be eye-opening to those of us who love books. It’s hard to be okay with the business side of publishing. We cling to our illusions, I guess. But there’s a lot to learn here, a lot we should all be aware of, and Sinykin is a wonderful guide to the territory.
kellylynnthomas's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Big Fiction is part history of publishing, part literary analysis. The first few chapters give an overview of how and when publishing houses began to get bought up by larger corporations, with a particular focus on Random House. Sinykin also delves into some of the popular fiction of the 1970s and 1980s, and explains how the changing industry affected authors and therefore, the books they wrote. Later chapters take a look at nonprofit publishers like Graywolf, and the final chapter looks at W.W. Norton and how it managed to stay independent when pretty much every other publisher was conglomerated.
Overall, Big Fiction is an interesting read, even if I didn't agree with all of Sinykin's literary analysis. The prose is dense, and definitely not easy reading. Parts of the book felt a little unbalanced, with not enough history/context and perhaps a bit too much analysis of individual novels. This is still a valuable study of how conglomeration changed fiction in big ways, and worth reading.
Recommended for: People who work in publishing, writers of fiction who hope to be traditionally published, and anyone who is interested in the history of publishing and literary fiction as a genre.
Overall, Big Fiction is an interesting read, even if I didn't agree with all of Sinykin's literary analysis. The prose is dense, and definitely not easy reading. Parts of the book felt a little unbalanced, with not enough history/context and perhaps a bit too much analysis of individual novels. This is still a valuable study of how conglomeration changed fiction in big ways, and worth reading.
Recommended for: People who work in publishing, writers of fiction who hope to be traditionally published, and anyone who is interested in the history of publishing and literary fiction as a genre.