Alice Hoffman: What Were You Thinking?

Have you seen the Alice Hoffman kerfluffle yet?

In a nutshell: Roberta Silman at the Boston Globe reviewed her latest book, The Story Sisters, and gave it what’s being called “a lukewarm review.” (Here is the Boston Globe Link – it opens in new window).

It’s not a glowing review, but I wouldn’t call it lukewarm, either. Silman has done her homework, and she’s obviously familiar with (and has even enjoyed) Hoffman’s earlier works. But, Silman does say that the book, “…lacks the spark of the earlier work. Its vision, characters, and even the prose seem tired. Too much of it is told rather than shown…”

Silman does have nice things to say about the book, too: “Admittedly, there are some wonderful passages as the book winds to a close – about the heirloom tomatoes Annie grew in her garden and how Claire learns to design jewelry.”

Hoffman responded by tweeting Silman’s phone number  and email address  and told her readers to “Tell her what u think of snarky critics.”

Hoffman also disparaged Silman: “Roberta Silman in the Boston Globe is a moron. How do some people get to review books?”

And then Hoffman put down the Boston Globe: “No wonder there is no book section in the Globe anymore – they don’t care about their readers, why should we care about them”

Ed Champion says, “…I think it’s safe to say that Alice Hoffman is certainly the most immature writer of her generation. One expects such behavior from a whiny brat in a boarding school who didn’t get the latest iPhone, not a 57-year-old bestselling author who won’t have to beg for a writing assignment or a hot meal anytime soon.”

The Cajun Boy, writer of the Gawker story on Ms. Hoffman’s actions, says, Ms. Hoffman, “went insane on Twitter” and “acti[ed] like a petulant child.”

Wow, wow, wow! Ms. Hoffman’s been publishing since 1977. You’d have thought she would have developed some kind of thick skin by now.

As @davidgibbons tweeted, “[to survive web2 u have to check ur ego at the door].” How true that is!

I certainly won’t be picking up the latest Hoffman novel, will you?

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Update: Ms. Hoffman has deleted both of her Twitter accounts as of this morning. Was she feeling the pressure?