Critical Survey of Long Fiction (Critical Survey (Salem Press))

Gr 9 Up—Though this attractive set is well conceived and includes 678 essays on the authors most studied in high school and their works (97 new essays, 130 revised from the 2000 edition), and a wealth of information and opinion, it is not essential. Each entry provides brief biographical data and a list of principal long works; a short discussion of the subject's other literary forms; sections entitled "Achievements," "Biography," and "Analysis," which provide general overviews of the author's writings; and a selection of analysis and plot summaries for specific titles. These summaries, which are detailed enough to impart themes and motifs, offer a sense of the literary value of each work and describe its critical reception. The writing is clear and informative, but the material selected, spurred as it is by curriculum concerns, can appear odd. For example, although Charles Dickens and Stephen King are popular authors, each with a large body of publications and each having attained academic standing, one could argue their relative importance. Compare the essays devoted to them: 5 Dickens titles are discussed in 10 pages, while 14 of King's works are covered in 13 pages. Also, John Steinbeck's East of Eden is briefly mentioned while his long stories "The Pearl" and "The Red Pony" and short novel Of Mice and Men receive lengthier coverage. An electronic version of this set, free with purchase until the end of 2011, offers easy, full-text searching.—Herman Sutter, Saint Agnes Academy, Houston, TX