James Joyce: A Critical Introduction (New Directions Paperbook) - Softcover

Levin, Harry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0811200892 ISBN 13: 9780811200899

Publisher: New Directions, 1960

Synopsis

One of the first books to sum up the contribution of James Joyce, this volume remains an essential guide to the works of a great innovator of modern literature.

Because Harry Levin’s view is large, as opposed to the many necessary exegeses and close textual studies, he leads the reader easily into the delights to be found in Joyce, from the comparatively simple prose of Dubliners, through Ulysses and into the complexities of Finnegans Wake. The insight and brilliance of this "critical introduction," first published by New Directions in 1941, make it as rewarding for the expert as the student. For this revised edition, Mr. Levin, who is Irving Babbitt Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard, has made revisions and added a new preface and a long "postscript" which he calls "Revising Joyce." He examines the works that have come to light in the last few years and some of the important later biographical writings about Joyce.

About this title

About the Author:

Harry Levin (1912–1994), literary critic and modernist literature scholar, graduated from Harvard University and began teaching there some years later. In 1960 he became Irving Babbitt Professor of Comparative Literature at Harvard and retired in 1983.

Review:

“A founder of comparative literature as a discipline.”
- The New York Times

“...a consummate performance in explanation...”
- London Times Literary Supplement

“A book which, through its subtle analyses, heightened my awareness of the situation of the novel and my own place in its history.”
- Thomas Mann

About this edition

• Publisher: New Directions
• Publication date: 1960
• ISBN 10: 0811200892
• ISBN 13: 9780811200899
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 260