" Aare hum log review likhne waale kon hote hai??!?"

That was the exact question that Mukesh asked me when I first suggested the idea of a book review section on the site. What he was alluding to was the fact that us doctors, who have no background in literature whatsoever, were probably not worthy enough to comment on the works of authors who had committed their lives to writing books. I guess it would be like having a layman objecting to a Doctor's therapy, when obviously he knows nothing about medicine.

In my opinion , however, even though we may not have had any special training for the job, we have a right to like or not like a book. Saying that "I don't like this particular book"  is not, I believe, disrespectful to the author or to the book. There might be a myriad of reasons why you might not be attracted to a certain book. You might not be basically interested in the subject matter, you might not understand the language and so on and so forth. Your opinion does nothing to harm the intrinsic value (or lack of it) of the book.

But, your opinion is sacrosanct. Just because someone says that French food is the epitome of cooking doesn't mean that you have to like it. Just because someone says PG Wodehouse is extremely funny doesn't mean that you have to think he is. (by the way, I love PG Wodehouse). Ultimately, the aim of every author, no matter how highly regarded he may be, is to entertain the individual reader. The author may think that his book is well written, but as long as the reader doesn't think the same, the author's opinion amounts to nothing.

What these reviews are are a collection of opinions. These opinions belong to the people who wrote the reviews and are subjective. They are not meant to pass judgment upon anyone. And they are certainly not meant to display the knowledge of the person who writes the review.