V. Smith – författare

Taking its title from James''s ambivalent catchphrase, this original study explores fundamental concerns of his fiction. It adopts a modern critical approach, yet is written for the intelligent reader whose interest in James is not necessarily academic. It examines six key novels and a number of short stories, interrelating them to provide not only an integrated picture of the fiction, but some conception of what animates it, and readings that challenge long-established critical assumptions.

Taking its title from James's ambivalent catchphrase, this study explores fundamental concerns of his fiction. The book adopts a modern critical approach, yet is written for the reader whose interest in James is not necessarily academic. It examines six key novels and a number of short stories, interrelating them to provide not only an integrated picture of the fiction, but some conception of what animates it, and readings that challenge long-established critical assumptions.

The essays collected in this volume, first published in 1995, are written by leading critics of Toni Morrison's work and exemplify the theoretical and cultural perspectives that have been brought to bear upon African American texts in general and upon Song of Solomon in particular. They reveal the complexities of a deceptively straightforward novel and spark renewed interest in what has proven a pivotal text by one of the most gifted authors this nation has produced.