Artificial Wilderness

by Sven Birkerts

If recent fiction consisted exclusively of American postmodernists, modern literature would be in deep trouble, contends Birkerts. In this latest gathering of brilliant essays, he examines the decline... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0879238070
• ISBN13: 9780879238070
• Release Date: February 1990
• Publisher: David R. Godine Publisher
• Length: 430 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Excellent source for overlooked European Greats

This is an excellent book of essays on European writers. Birkerts chooses from the lesser known authors to write at length about so some of these authors you will have heard of, some not. The essay on the early French modernist poet and novelist Blaise Cendrars is especially good as it gives an excellent overview of virtually all of this authors mostly neglected work, including the autobiographical works. Also the Robert Musil essay is particularly good. What is appealing about Birkerts approach is that he has read everything by the authors he writes about and so the essays are generous with information and insight and give you a general idea of an author and his work. Birkerts is a reader who worked in a bookshop for many years and his love of books and particular authors shows in his enthusiastic albeit sound appraisals so this is an excellent source for readers always on the lookout for a good tip . This book was an award winner and I think it is far better than his later American Energies which is a shallower effort. He really excavates these Europeans though. Yourcenar & Tournier essays also very good. Others as well.