Synopses & Reviews
A retrospective article on Leslie Fiedler in the New York Times Book Review in 1965 referred to Love and Death in the American Novel as "one of the great, essential books on the American imagination . . . an accepted major work." This groundbreaking work views in depth both American literature and character from the time of the American Revolution to the present. From it, there emerges Fiedler's once scandalous—now increasingly accepted—judgment that our literature is incapable of dealing with adult sexuality and is pathologically obsessed with death.
Review
Prof. Fiedler's entertaining account of the American novel's obsessions remains one of the key works of American studies more then 30 years after its first appearance.Genuinely original . . . a work of lasting importance . . . a powerful indictment of our culture and of modern culture in general. -- Richard Chase
Review
I know few works of criticism that are so likely to involve the reader whose interest in literature is not of a professional kind . . . it amounts to a general cultural history of the nation. -- Lionel Trilling
Review
In its insights the book remains immensely intelligent, immediate, and vital. -- David Plante
Synopsis
It is not possible to read Leslie Fiedler's criticism without a sense of awe and excitement.
Synopsis
"No other study of the American novel has such fascinating and on the whole right things to say."—Washington Post
About the Author
Leslie A. Fiedler (1917-2003) was born in Newark, New Jersey. He did his undergraduate studies at New York University, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Fiedler taught throughout his career, first at the University of Montana and subsequently at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He was the author of many books, including Love and Death in the American Novel, The Last Jew in America, Waiting for the End, No! in Thunder, An End to Innocence, Freaks, and Tyranny of the Normal.Charles B. Harris directs the Unit for Contemporary Literature at Illinois State University. He is also the publisher of American Book Review and author of numerous books and articles on recent American fiction and the profession of English studies. In 1997 the Modern Language Associated honored him with the Francis Andrew March Award for Exceptional Service to the Profession of English.