Customer Reviews

Believer

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Their Web site sells a year subscription for $45. I find that Amazon, or whoever their affiliate is, repeatedly sells magazine subscritions for more than the actual magazine itself.

Yep, pretension is the name of game here. Although it's not really pretension - its a kind of uber-pretense, a pretension so pretensive in its self-mockery that it somehow doubles back itself and actually becomes almost worthwhile.

Almost.

The cutesiness of the verbal ticks (each article, for example, is prefaced with a distinctly unnecessary list of issues which will be "discussed")are so studious in their avoidance of any level of seriousness as to be nearly embarassing. The quality of writing is, as one might imagine, mixed. The book reviews are hilariously unimformative, and yet again one suspects this is done on purpose. How gauche do we readers need to be to want to find out what a book is about from a review! Or whether not the book is worth reading! How pedestrian! Pul-ease!

All in all one walks away with the distinct impression that to spend more than 5 minutes in conversation with the Believer (or the McSweeny's) crowd would be an unavoidable prelude to a grisly murder-suicide. Simultaneously brilliant and annoying, The Believer is the sort of thing that people who like this sort of thing will certain like. And even then in small doses, I suspect.

I feel like the word "magazine" nominally cheapens the value of The Believer, for it is nothing like what I've come to know as a magazine. What do I mean?

1. There are no advertisements, at all
2. There are almost no photographs, although there are many drawings
3. The story topics are seemingly disparate, yet each tends to relate itself somehow to literature
4. The cover and pages are quality paper and binding, not some flimsy, glossy mess bound with a few staples

Without a doubt, this is my favorite periodical. Each article is stimulating in its own right, even if the topic itself is not interesting.

If you want to read one of the most interesting, quirky, insightful and well-written magazines about books and literature being published today, this baby is for you. One of my favorite pieces in the first issue was Heidi Julavits's right-on critique of modern book reviewing. And the interviews of Susan Straight and Galen Strawson were magnificent! As for the design: first rate. So, I am now a believer...and a subscriber.

How I love you so. The Believer is the latest periodical to begin publishing under the McSweeney's line, a line which includes work by Dave Eggers, Neal Pollack, Rick Moody, and the superfine McSweeney's itself, another journal of stupefying literary proportions. The Believer takes up the nonfiction wing of the building -- book reviews, trends, music, interviews, et cetera amen -- but does it like no other. These cats do it with style, approaching old subjects from different angles, new perspectives, an insouciant wit, and good old-fashioned gumption, the kind all our grampas talk about. You know.
The articles are smart, the interviews actually interesting, the divergences diverging, and with that Spartan sense of design and oh-so luscious Charles Burns illustrations, The Believer has now become the only periodical I want to make babies with.
Get a subscription. You have your orders.

I am a 12 year-old novelist who has thoroughly enjoyed reading each new issue of The Believer magazine ever since I discovered its first issue in my parents' bookshop. The films of Terry Gilliam have always inspired me so much to believe in myself and my dreams, so the first issue came as a horizon-widening surprise, what with its discussion between Terry G. and Salman Rushdie (whose work I have yet to conquer). A special treat is the regular section which charts odds and ends of the world, which is always a treat for the eye and the mind. I highly recommend it.

For years I've been in search of the perfect magazine, something substantial that I could read cover-to-cover every month. My search has finally ended with The Believer, published by the good folks at McSweeney's. The content is incredible, and it's all contained in a neatly designed package that's a pleasure to leaf through. The November issue is supposedly available, but I'm still looking for it. Where else am I going to find McSweeney's founder Dave Eggers (author of the appropriately titled A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, the excellence of which pardons him for the rather disappointing You Shall Know Our Velocity!) interviewing David Foster Wallace?

THE BELIEVER magazine really isn't a magazine at all, but is more like a pop-culture journal and literary digest that is sometimes published monthly, other times bi-monthly. The publication comes from almost the same people responsible for MCSWEENEY'S. THE BELIEVER gives off an aura of being hip, chic, in-style, and in-the-know. There is a lot of good writing to be found in the journal (e.g. Nick Hornby's recently ended weekly column about books or the article about Thornton Wilder in the February 2009 issue). There are not advertisements and instead of photographs THE BELIEVER is full of wonderful illustrations and drawings. With that said, though, THE BELIEVER isn't quite what it seems.

For instance take the periodical's book reviews. The mission statement from THE BELIEVER website states that "There are book reviews that are not necessarily timely, and that are very often very long." Well, the book reviews are hardly ever timely, but very seldom are they long. It's usually the opposite. Book reviews are a page or less (4-5 paragraphs on average) and rarely tell a reader anything about the book or give the reader any indication about what the reviewer thought about the book. I realize that's kind of the vibe of much of the publication, but this isn't THE ONION. This is THE BELIEVER, a publication which has set itself up to be a kind of happening literary publication that also comments on pop culture and social events, so why a real honest book review doesn't show up more often is beyond me.

Still, other than the book reviews and occasional bad essay, there is a lot that I've enjoyed in THE BELIEVER. The publish an annual movie issue which often has some very good articles and though in general the writing can be hit or miss, there's usually at least one really good article in the publication.

A previous reviewer here on Amazon.com noted how the publication oozes with pretension. That's very accurate. However, if you can ignore how inferior the periodical wants you to feel, you might just find an article or two worth reading. THE BELIEVER is the type of publication you won't mind picking up and reading while in the bookstore, but it's not going to be one you'll want to subscribe to.

Go to McSweeney's own site and get a lower subscription price, without any sale or combo applied. This is ridiculous.

I like the McSweeney's empire. Despite what has been written about them being overly hipstery, this is an excellent magazine with interesting articles by many great authors. A little uneven sometimes, but what magazine isn't? The thing I have always liked about this magazine is that they are good natured and avoid the sneering and angry posturing that you so often see attached to literary pursuits. They review things that they actually LIKE rather than taking potshots at things they dont. Why on earth has it become the norm to review books that you hate and tear them down? Why would anyone actually want to read that?