In Search of Authority: An Introductory Guide to Literary Theory

Rating:
Summary: It could have been confusing . . .
Review: . . . but it wasn't. Bonnycastle presents a plethora of modern forms of literary criticism (e.g., structuralism, deconstruction, new historicism, etc.) in a clear and enlightening manner. His use of examples are, in my opinion, superb. As an undergraduate English lit major, I appreciate his well-written guide to what could have been a depressing and frustrating study of literary theory.

Rating:
Summary: What makes this book so good...
Review: ...is that it takes on an immense and complicated subject from the point of view of one person navigating his way through the field in a logical and straightforward way. Bonnycastle is clear about his own critical outlook and that is just one of the ways in which he creates context--transforming what could be countless and disparate stars in the sky into a logical sequence that holds together nearly like a narrative. I never thought I could understand the various approaches this quickly, and what's more, remember large chunks of the highly specialized vocabulary, but within Bonnycastle's structure, these things seem to fit together almost intuitively. I think this book should be required reading for Literature majors, or anyone thinking about graduate school in literature, creative writing, rhetoric or composition.