Originally published in 1950, Some Tame Gazelle was Barbara Pym’s first novel, but it does not read like an apprentice work.
(A) does not read like an apprentice work
(B) seems not to read as an apprentice work
(C) does not seem to read as an apprentice work would
(D) does not read like an apprentice work does
(E) reads unlike an apprentice work

OA is A . Can you please explain why choice E is wrong?

i have an analogy
read these sentences:
you don't look like me. you look unlike me. I hope it would help

Can someone please explain the above?

I feel choice "E" is more concise than "A"

Thanks

Originally published in 1950, Some Tame Gazelle was Barbara Pym’s first novel, but it does not read like an apprentice work.
(A) does not read like an apprentice work
(B) seems not to read as an apprentice work
(C) does not seem to read as an apprentice work would
(D) does not read like an apprentice work does
(E) reads unlike an apprentice work

OA is A . Can you please explain why choice E is wrong?

Answer E sounds like the the novel is doing the reading.
Answer A should be correct!

as far as i've seen - and definitely in the view of the gmat, especially in light of this probelm - "unlike X" is an ADJECTIVE phrase, and can therefore only modify NOUNS.
choice (e) is attempting to use "unlike X" as an ADVERB phrase, modifying "reads". that doesn't fly.

weirdly enough, "like an apprentice work" seems to be perfectly acceptable as an adverb phrase, because it modifies the verb "read" in the correct answer.

as far as i've seen - and definitely in the view of the gmat, especially in light of this probelm - "unlike X" is an ADJECTIVE phrase, and can therefore only modify NOUNS.
choice (e) is attempting to use "unlike X" as an ADVERB phrase, modifying "reads". that doesn't fly.

weirdly enough, "like an apprentice work" seems to be perfectly acceptable as an adverb phrase, because it modifies the verb "read" in the correct answer.

Hi Ron, Any reason why D is wrong?

I marked A because :

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/read

read
noun. Informal
Something that is read: "The book is a page-turner as well as a very satisfying read" (Frank Conroy).

"read" is used as a noun in A and the noun is correctly compared to "apprentice work" in A alone.

In E, reads becomes verb and you cannot compare verb to noun

the extra "does" isn't needed for anything, so it's too wordy.
if the extra "does" cleared up some sort of ambiguity, then that would be the correct choice. but it doesn't.

Could you please explain why C is wrong?

(c) is wrong because its meaning is completely different from that of the original sentence.

the original sentence declares, unequivocally, that the novel does not read like an apprentice work. there is no uncertainly or hypothetical quality about this statement.
choice (c), by contrast, uses the word "seems", implying that this is only a veneer - a trick of external appearances. (in other words, the book doesn't seem to read like an apprentice work ... but maybe it still does.)

if you overlooked this difference, it's because we often use words like "seems" in spoken language in order to soften messages. (think about the way in which you'd say to a friend, "it seems as though you've gained some weight".)
just keep in mind that written language is not spoken language. the conventions of the two are completely different: written language should be without the pleasantries, softeners, and euphemisms that serve as "social lubricant" in spoken language. in written language, you must read very literally: the sentence means exactly what it says, and every word counts toward that meaning.

Hi Ron,

As per my understanding, we use "as" to compare two actions. So shouldn't we use "as" instead of "like"? There is no fully correct option using "as". If there were an option "does not read as an apprentice work does", then would we choose this option ahead of 'option A'?

Thanks

no. (a) makes a perfectly acceptable comparison, so there would be no reason to prefer this other construction (which would in fact be much less concise).

Hi Ron,
Why is Option D "like an apprentice work does" incorrect?

I am trying to draw a comparison with the following question:
"Inflation has made many Americans reevaluate their assumptions about the future; they still expect to live better than their parents have, but not so well as they once thought they could."
The correct answer was "they still expect to live better than their parents did"

It would be incorrect to say "they still expect to live better than their parents".

Similarly, we have to draw parallel comparison here. We have to compare how the first novel does not read like the way an apprentice work reads ("does").
Please explain.

"like" is a preposition; it must be followed by a NOUN (or noun + modifiers, not by a whole clause.
(note the difference from spoken english, in which "like" is routinely followed by clauses.)

if you wish to make this kind of comparison with a clause, then "like" should be replaced by "as".