Major characters in American fiction

Library Journal

This work, edited by academics at the Center for American Cultural Studies at Columbia University, provides biographies of fictional characters from American literature. It covers close to 1600 names from books (not including plays) published between 1790 and 1991. Entries are arranged alphabetically and include brief bibliographical information and a five-to seven-paragraph biography. Three sections that cross list the characters in terms of author, title, and alternate name are also provided. Because some plot summary is included in the biographies, this work is a useful counterpart to such sources as the Oxford Companion to American Literature (1983. 5th ed.). Users will find this new work more helpful than previously available resources; no other works specifically devoted to character seek to provide such detail. For instance, The Dictionary of American Literary Characters (LJ 8/1/89) offers only one or two sentences of basic bibliographical information. While the Dictionary of Fictional Characters (1973) and Who's Who in Fiction (1975) have similar entries, they are older works. Recommended for all libraries.-Neal Wyatt, Mary Washington Coll. Lib., Fredericksburg, Va.

School Library Journal

YA-This interesting resource provides full biographical details for almost 1500 characters from both short stories and novels in American literature. Entries were selected by the staff of the Center for American Culture at Columbia University based on their cultural significance, and emphasis is on the development and relevance of the character, not the particular work itself. Arranged by the figure's last name, each entry is several paragraphs long and usually provides a unique plot summary. The appended matter includes lists of authors, titles, characters' names, and nicknames.-Claudia Moore, W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA

Booknews

Explores women's experience and historical consciousness of the Solidarity Movement and post-communist Poland, based on interviews, iconography, and commemorative practices of the Solidarity labor union. Finds that women, many of them activists in the Gdansk area, interpret events through images of the domestic realm such a maternity and food, and that they are more marginalized now by stereotypical gender roles and Catholic nationalism than before 1989. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)