Painful Memories: "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
(original review, 2000)
So millions of readers think these books are brilliant. It takes an odd sort of character to say, in this context, "frankly the books are rubbish".
Very odd.
It seems so much more natural, and logical, to say something like "I think these books are badly written ("he was sat there" etc.} and don't think they're any good". Just that tiny yet essential shift in emphasis from "They are crap" to "I think they're crap" prevents this massive denial of their appeal, which demonstrates they can't be crap.
If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.
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