"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Contributed by 41 critics, biographers, academics, and other literary writers, the unsigned entries average 1xba columns in length. In addition to providing information on the author's life and works, each entry offers a brief overall critical assessment. All entries conclude with a bibliography of the author's works, categorized by genre, and a reference to a full-length biography, if one is available. Although many entries reflect events and publications through mid-1995, others are not that current: A. S. Byatt's bibliography does not include any of her publications since 1991, and the 1991 death of Howard Nemerov is not noted. While the major figures of the century are certainly here, some of the editors' inclusions and exclusions are puzzling. For instance, Don DeLillo and Sara Paretsky are included, but John Hersey and Wallace Stegner are not. In addition, the coverage of living American playwrights and poets is particularly spotty. Among those overlooked are Gwendolyn Brooks, Rita Dove, Beth Henley, Wendy Wasserstein, and August Wilson.
Oxford was prudent in changing the title of this work, for these lively articles are a far cry from the staid, conventional sketches in the Oxford Companions. In a refreshing--but often ruthless--warts-and-all style, contributors seem to revel in the details of authors' personal lives, particularly those involving unhappy childhoods, sexual predilections, and various addictions. At times, there is an almost tabloidlike fascination with sordid or gruesome details. For instance, the reader is not simply informed that Richard Brautigan committed suicide, but that he shot himself in the head and his body was not found for four weeks. Other articles reveal that Alice Walker had an abortion and that Truman Capote escorted the nearly blind James Thurber to his amorous trysts with a New Yorker secretary. Sometimes, interesting trivia about an author's life seems to take precedence over important information about his or her writing. For example, we learn that Derek Walcott has been married three times, but not that he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992.
There is no question that the inclusion here of personal details generally revealed only in full-length biographies results in a livelier and more entertaining compendium. Because its fresh approach complements more traditional reference sources, it should be of particular interest to large academic and public libraries.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
US$ 5.25
Within U.S.A.
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # BK1372
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks71567
Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 3.1. Seller Inventory # Q-0195212150