Review by Choice Review
As with other titles in the "Cambridge Companions to ... " series, this volume serves those transitioning into a more critical reading of material, in this case that of Irish modernists. The list of contributors is a who's who of scholars working in the field. A comprehensive time line in the first few pages provides a thorough historical grounding in the socioeconomic, political, and cultural events that contributed to the formation of Irish modernism. If this book is treated as the first window into the wider world of scholarship, then Cleary (National Univ. of Ireland, Maynooth) has more than ably accomplished his task. "Formations," the first and best of the volume's four sections (the others are "Genres and Forms," "Constituencies," and "Domestic Receptions, World Imaginations"), focuses on the genesis of this most inventive and influential of literary movements. If Jean-Michael Rabaté (in the opening essay) perhaps over-emphasizes the role of Friedrich Nietzsche at the expense of other influences, Rabaté's investigation nonetheless demonstrates how certain elements of 19th-century intellectual history inspired early-20th-century writers in Ireland. In the final essay, Michael Valdez Moses seeks to place Irish modernism within a wider context of postcolonial and global literary movements. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates; graduate students. --Anthony P. Pennino, Stevens Institute of Technology
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
