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American Audacity: In Defense of Literary Daring

by William Giraldi
Liveright: Norton. Aug. 2018. 336p. ISBN 9781631493904. $28.95; ebk. ISBN 9781631493911. LIT
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Giraldi (The Hero's Body; Hold the Dark) believes that critics should be readers before they are writers but that criticism should be well crafted and not tied to a theory or ideology other than a love of literature. Giraldi holds himself to his own standards in this collection of essays about American authors he considers audacious—bold, complex, and ambitious. Whether reviewing a new novel by Barry Hannah, mulling over the lost art of hate mail, wading into the controversy surrounding Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman, or examining the work of critics such as Harold Bloom and Katie Roiphe, Giraldi is a pleasure to read, presenting erudite prose that is free of jargon and exhibits an American audacity of its own.
VERDICT Smart, insightful, and energetic, these essays will have you reaching for the bookshelf or heading to the library; they will make you want to read. This is the kind of criticism we need more of.
Reviewed by Stefanie Hollmichel, Univ. of St. Thomas Law Lib., Minneapolis , Aug 01, 2018
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