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Overview
Popular critic John Aldridge gathers essays from his distinguished career to trace the evolution of contemporary literature, from Ernest Hemingway and Henry James to John Barth and Norman Mailer.
Synopsis
Popular critic John Aldridge gathers essays from his distinguished career to trace the evolution of contemporary literature, from Ernest Hemingway and Henry James to John Barth and Norman Mailer.
Publishers Weekly
Literary critics Aldridge ( After the Lost Generation ) here assembles 32 previously published articles, dating chiefly to the 1970s and 1980s. Analyzing the work of the early (Henry James, Ford Madox Ford), middle (Faulkner, Hemingway) and late (James Jones, Joseph Heller) modernists in relation to the times in which they wrote, his creative, spirited and trenchant opinions should both challenge and delight readers of literary criticism. A closing essay, also lie kely to inspire debate, dismisses the work of contemporary writers as mediocre and banal due to the homogenizing effect of mass culture. The essays seled cted, as some readers will note with dismay, deal only with the work of white men. (July)
Editorials
From the Publisher
"Without reservation it's possible to say of Aldridge what he says of Ford Madox Ford in Classics. He is 'that rarest of beings, the genuine, wholly dedicated literary professional' and perhaps 'the last of that line'." --Chicago Tribune