Joy English · Level C1 · Reviewsjoy-english.com
A review of a non-fiction book
Name:Date:
Write an evaluative review that summarises, judges and recommends, using nuanced and precise evaluative language.
The Quiet Ledger by Imre Halvard: a patient study of attention
Few books about attention manage to avoid either alarmism or self-help clichés. The Quiet Ledger, Imre Halvard's first book, does both, and the result is as thoughtful as it is readable.
Halvard, a former archivist, begins with an unlikely subject: the account books kept by a nineteenth-century merchant, whose meticulous entries reveal how deeply he concentrated on tasks that we would now consider tedious. From this starting point, he builds a persuasive argument that attention is not a fixed capacity but a habit shaped by the demands we place on it. The writing is lucid and wry, and the author has a rare gift for explaining research without simplifying it.
Where the book is less convincing is in its middle chapters. Having established his thesis, Halvard tends to repeat it, supported by anecdotes that are charming but hardly conclusive. A chapter on the effect of notifications, for instance, draws sweeping conclusions from a single small experiment, and the reader is left wishing for more rigour. Nor does the author address the possibility that concentration is easier for some people than for others, an omission that sits oddly with his otherwise careful approach.
These reservations aside, the book's strengths outweigh its weaknesses. Halvard's closing chapter, on the practical value of boredom, is the finest in the book: it is both humane and unexpectedly moving, and it lingers in the mind long after the final page.
Not a definitive study, then, but a stimulating and elegantly written one. It will appeal to readers who enjoy popular science with a historical flavour, though those hoping for a step-by-step programme for improving concentration may be disappointed. Recommended, with minor reservations.
Choose the best option
Choose the option that is most appropriate in a polished review.
- Which sentence is the most precise evaluation?
- Which criticism is expressed in the most measured way?
- These reservations ___, the book is well worth reading.
- Nor ___ the author address differences between readers.
- Which sentence best finishes a review with a recommendation?
- Halvard has a rare ___ for explaining research clearly.
- Which sentence describes the book without retelling the plot or argument in detail?
Complete the review language
Type one word to complete each sentence.
- The result is ___ thoughtful as it is readable.
- The author tends to ___ his main point in the middle chapters.
- The chapter on notifications draws sweeping ___ from a single small experiment.
- The last chapter is both humane and ___ moving. (in a way the reader does not expect)
- It is not a definitive study, ___ a stimulating one.
- Readers hoping for a step-by-step programme may be ___.
- The book's strengths ___ its weaknesses.
Writing task
Write a review of a non-fiction book, documentary or exhibition you know well (real or invented) that deals with a serious subject in an accessible way. Describe what it is about, evaluate its strengths and weaknesses with specific examples, and say who would enjoy it.
220–280 words
Check your writing
- I opened with a hook or a clear statement of what the work is.
- I described the work briefly without retelling it.
- I evaluated with precise language and specific examples.
- I made at least one balanced criticism.
- I used varied structures (e.g. Nor does..., These reservations aside).
- I ended with a clear recommendation for a type of audience.
Answer key
Choose the best option
- b) The writing is lucid and wry.Lucid and wry are specific evaluative adjectives; the others are vague.
- c) The middle chapters are less convincing.Less convincing is moderate and professional, while the other options are blunt and informal.
- a) asideThese reservations aside is a fixed pattern meaning "ignoring these doubts".
- b) doesAfter Nor we invert the auxiliary and subject: Nor does the author address ...
- a) It will appeal to readers who enjoy popular science with a historical flavour.It names the audience and makes a recommendation.
- a) giftA gift for + -ing is the natural collocation here; talent would need for, not of.
- a) The author describes the merchant's ledgers and builds an argument about attention as habit.It orients the reader in one sentence. The other sentences simply retell.
Complete the review language
- asThe pattern as ... as links two qualities that are equally true.
- repeat / restate / reiterate / labour / labor / belabour / belabor / overstateTends to is followed by the base form of a verb: repeat, restate or reiterate.
- conclusions / generalisations / generalizations / inferencesDraw conclusions/generalisations is a standard collocation.
- unexpectedly / surprisinglyAn adverb such as unexpectedly or surprisingly modifies the adjective moving.
- but / though / yetNot ... but ... contrasts two descriptions; though or yet also work here.
- disappointed / frustrated / dissatisfiedHoping for something that is not provided leads to being disappointed.
- outweigh / outnumberOutweigh means "are greater or more important than".
Model answer
The Salt Roads, a documentary in four parts, takes a modest subject, the old trade routes that carried salt across a continent, and turns it into an absorbing study of how ordinary goods shape societies.
The film follows a geographer, Mina Okafor, as she travels the routes by train, truck and, in one memorable episode, on foot. The photography is superb, and the commentary is lucid without ever being patronising. Each location is filmed with patience, so that the viewer has time to notice details that a busier programme would skip. Particularly effective is the second episode, which uses old trading ledgers to reconstruct a single journey day by day.
Where the series falters is in its third part. Having established its theme, it lingers too long on a series of interviews that add little, and the pace slackens noticeably. Nor does it consider how the same routes were used by people other than traders, which seems an odd omission in an otherwise thorough series.
These reservations aside, the series is a rewarding one. Its final scene, in which Okafor watches salt being harvested by hand, is quietly moving. The closing narration, delivered without any trace of sentimentality, leaves the viewer with a lasting sense of how much depends on small, easily overlooked things.
It will appeal to viewers who enjoy history and travel, although those looking for a fast-moving narrative may find it slow. Recommended.