The Literary Shelf
MWBOOKREVW
Literary Research Guide: 3rd Edition
James L. Harner
Modern Language Association
10 Astor Place, New York, NY 10003-6981
0-87532-574-4 $19.95 (pb) 0-87532-573-6 $37.50 (hc) 1-212-614-6382
1-212-358-9140 (fax)
Now in an expanded and updated third edition, James Harner's Literary Research
Guide is the standard reference guide to sources for the study of English
literature and related topics. It evaluates important bibliographies,
abstracts, surveys of research, indexes, databases, catalogs, annals,
dictionaries, and other important reference materials in English studies.
Literary Research Guide features more than 1,200 entries; the annotations
discuss an additional 1,331 books, articles, and electronic resources, and cite
752 reviews. The annotations describe the type of work, its scope, its major
limitations, and its organization; present parts of a typical entry; list the
type and number of indexes; evaluate coverage, organization, and accuracy;
explain the work's uses in research; cite significant reviews that more fully
define the importance or uses of the work or its place in the scholarly
tradition; note related works, including supplementary, complementary, or
superseded ones. Literary Research Guide is a corner stone of all academic and
scholarly literary studies collections.
The Medieval Dragon: The Nature of the Beast in Germanic Literature
Joyce Tally Lionarons
Hisarlik Press/ISBS, dist.
5804 N.E. Hassalo Street, Portland, OR 97213-3644
1-874312-33-8 $59.95 1-503-287-3093 1-503-280-8832 (fax) ma...@isbs.com
The figure of the dragon is to be found throughout European literature and
folklore, but rarely so significantly as in Germanic literature. Joyce
Lionarons masterfully surveys the subject in chapters devoted to Dragons and
Dragon-Slayers; Beowulf and the Beowulf Dragon; Fafnir; Sifrit; A Wilderness of
Dragons; and "Conclusion". The Medieval Dragon is enhanced with extensive
notes, an excellent bibliography, and an exhaustive index. A superb and well
crafted work of comprehensive scholarship, The Medieval Dragon is a highly
recommended work for students of Germanic literature, medieval studies, and
folklore.
Towards Emancipation: German Women Writers of the Nineteenth Century
Carol Diethe
Berghahn Books
165 Taber Avenue, Providence, RI 02906
1-57181-933-9 $16.50 (pb) 1-57181-932-0 $42.00 (hc) 1-401-861-9330
1-401-521-0046 (fax)
Focusing on Feminism in Germany, Carol Diethe's Towards Emancipation examines
some of the most influential women writers of the nineteenth century, from the
late-Romantic writers such as Bettina von Arnim and Johanna Schopenhauer, to
writers who were active in the 1848 Revolution such as Malwida von Meysenbug
and Johanna Kinkel. The heart of Towards Emancipation is devoted to the leading
proponents of emancipation, Hedwig Dohm, Helene Bohlau and the prolific Louise
Otto-Peters, yet it also includes mainstream writers whose attitudes towards
the movement range from lukewarm (the enormously popular Marie von
Ebner-Eschenbach and Gabriele Reuter) to downright hostile (Lou Andreas-Salome
and Franziska zu Reventlow). Towards Emancipation fills the former gap in the
study of influential women writers and thinkers of Germany, and presents for
the first time, a refreshing view of (and challenges to) the ideas and
assumptions held by the male counterparts of their time. Towards Emancipation
is a fascinating and informative contribution to German and feminist literary
studies.
Persuasion in the French Personal Novel
Richard Bales
Summa Publications, Inc.
PO Box 660725, Birmingham, AL 35266-0725
1-883479-16-9 $34.95 1-205-822-0463 1-205-822-0463 (fax)
Richard Bales' Persuasion in the French Personal Novel: Studies of
Chateaubriand, Constant, Balzac, Nerval, and Fromentin tackles the manner in
which techniques of persuasion inform the substance of major texts written in
the Romantic period. After an introduction which reviews aspects of rhetoric
germane to such a study, individual chapters detail the way in which they are
deployed. In Chateaubriand's Rene, the eponymous hero gears his narrative in
such a way as to assure himself of tactical superiority over his listeners.
Constant's Adlophe clothes himself in superficially dazzling language, while
the hero of Balzac's Le Lys dans la vallee adopts a more low-key dislay of
epistolary self-justification. In Nerval's Sylvie, the protagonist engages in a
program of poetic self-delusion, a procedure which Fromentin's Dominique
carries out to a more emphatic degree of willed asertion. The common thred is
that all of these texts contian inscribed within their fabric a desire to
project private failure as public success. Persuasion In The French Personal
Novel is a thoughtful, insightful, scholarly, and thoroughly engaging
contribution towards a considered appreciation of an important French literary
form.
Rabelais
Michael J. Heath
Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies
Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies
Arizona State University
PO Box 872508, Tempe, AZ 85287-2508
0-86698-181-0 $22.00 1-602-727-6503 1-602-727-6505 (fax) mr...@asu.edu
Michael Heath's Rabelais highlights the consistent playfulness of the work of
one of the most controversial writers of the European Renaissance, while
allowing the seeming contradictions (fantasy and realism, laughter and
erudition, sex and spirituality) to coexist and complement one another. The
opening biographical text discusses not only the historical author, but also
the legendary Maitre Francois, the riotous, gluttonous, bibulous ex-monk with
his fund of risque stories. The body of this work discusses the four authentic
books, offering both an overall appraisal of each, and a guide to the major
episodes. Rabelais is a work of distinguished scholarship and an invaluable
addition to understanding of and an appreciation for, the work and thought of a
true renaissance master.
Medieval Spanish Epic: Mythic Roots and Ritual Language
Thomas Montgomery
Penn State University Press
820 North University Drive, University Support Bdg. 1, Suite C, University
Park, PA 16802-1003
0-271-01738-4 $42.50 1-814-865-1327 1-814-863-1408 (fax)
Medieval Spanish Epic discovers origins of key parts of nearly all the medieval
Spanish epics in an ancient myth. The myth of the initiation of the young
warrior, shown by Georges Dumezil to be fundamental to the belief systems of
widely distributed Indo-European peoples, was variously adapted to shape the
action of texts including the Siete Infantes de Lara, the Mocedades de Rodrigo,
and the Poema de Mio Cid, in which it accounts for the peculiar behavior of the
Infantes de Carrion. The memory of the same mythic tradition also affords
motivation for the central conflict of the Chanson deo Roland. In Spain, the
earlier epics upheld the values of the heroic age, values necessary for the
survival of the warring clan, and were a principal source of the clan members'
knowledge of their world and their sense of identity. The oral presentation of
this archetypal lore required a special language capabable of re-creating the
ritualized behavior of the epic characters and maintaining the ceremonial tone
of the performance. The second part of Medieval Spanish Epic studies ways in
which the poetic language met that task and evoked a feeling of group unity
that absorbed the audience and still works its spell upon today's readers.
Medieval Spanish Epic is scholarly, intellectually engaging, and a superb
contribution to the growing body of literature on the epic poem.
Children of Silence
Michael Wood
Columbia University Press
0-231-05048-6 $22.95
Literary critic Michael Wood presents a series of reflection on modern
literature, from Stephen King to Toni Morrison. Reflections on the shift from
novel to story, the differences between fiction and criticism, and other
changes in the world of contemporary fiction make for an excellent
college-level treatise on modern literature.
Chinese Literature in Transition from Antiquity
Donald Holzman
Ashgate Publishing
Old Post Rd., Brookfield, VT 05036-9704
0-86078-689-7 $94.95
Specifically appropriate for and recommended to college-level specialty
collections, Donald Holzman's Chinese Literature In Transition From Antiquity
is an important reference which traces the history and evolution of Chinese
literature from antiquity to the Middle Ages. Other studies focus on more
modern times: Chinese Literature In Transition From Antiquity studies and
analyzes ancient works.
Dracula: A Reader's Companion
Carol Senf
Twayne
0-8057-7844-6 $25.95
High school through college-level readers studying Bram Stoker will want to
include this scholarly reflection on their supplemental reading lists: Senf
focuses on the historical background of Dracula, examining Stoker's response to
the New Woman, concerns over homosexuality, and hopes for science's impact on
contemporary social issues. A fine survey of Stoker's times places his classic
directly in historical context.
Prospero's Mirror
Ilan Stavans, Editor
Curbstone Press
321 Jackson St., Willimantic, CT 06226
1-880684-49-7 $17.95
This deserves ongoing mention as a fine portfolio of Latin American short
fiction masterworks. Any collection featuring Latin fiction will want to
include this in their collection: sixteen translators choose their favorite
stories from Latin America for this title, with authors ranging from Alfonso
Reyes to Jorge Lanata.
T.S. Eliot and American Poetry
Lee Oser
University of Missouri Press
2910 LeMone Blvd., Columbia MO 65201
0-8262-1181-X $29.95
College-level students of Eliot will appreciate this critical study of his
major poems, which may be used as a supplement to illuminate facets of his
works. This provides extensive quotes from his works, examines critical
aspects, and draws connections between American history and culture and Eliot's
perspectives.
The Two-Fold Thought of Deleuze and Guattari
Charles J. Stivale
Guilford Publications
72 Spring St., New York NY 10012
1-57230-326-3 $19.95
This blends philosophy with literary criticism and is not entirely of either
school, but will please readers of both. French philosophers Deleuze and
Guattari worked together from the 1960s-90s: this reveals key concepts by
applying them to reading of literary texts for in-depth clarification and
useful college-level application.
Ted Hughes: The Poetic Quest
Ann Skea
The University of New England Press
1st Floor, Richardsons Arcade, Beardy Street, Armidale, NSW, Australia
www.zeta.org.au/~annskea/order2.htm
1-86389-201-X A$29.95 067-71-1097
In Ted Hughes: The Poetic Quest, Ann Skea examines three of Ted Hughes' major
sequences of poetry and hows how he uses myth, mysticism, and alchemy to
control and direct the magical, transforming power of poetry. Skea shows how
Cave Birds, Remains of Elmet, and River represent stages in a visionary quest
for healing energies, and how Hughes (much like William Blake) uses poetry and
art, spirit and imagination to link our inner and outer worlds. Using Hughes'
own beliefs, as expressed in his extensive prose writing, and through detailed
analysis of the structure and content of Hughes' poetry, Skea affords the
reader new insight into Hughes' creative skill and new understanding of the
work of one of England's premier poets. Ted Hughes: The Poetic Quest serves as
a model for the literary analysis of a major poet and could well serve as a
template for examinations of other poets, their workstyle and meaning.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting
literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from
authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on
thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, organizational
newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review
a credit line when doing so.
The Midwest Book Review publishes two monthly book review magazines, "Internet
Bookwatch" and "Children's Bookwatch". Both are available for free on the
Midwest Book Review website at http://www.execpc.com/~mbr/bookwatch/
If you would like to submit a review for inclusion in our Midwest Book Review
publications, please send an email request to m...@execpc.com for our "Reviewer
Guidelines". We invite your comments, questions and suggestions.
James A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575