John Barth. [Mit Portr.] - (Boston, Mass. 1986). 170 S. 8°

Walkiewicz's penetrating new study addresses Barth's role as a master of his craft and as a leading figure in the creation of a post-modernist critical aesthetic. This book spans the entire range of the Barth canon, including a pointed analysis of the often misunderstood but essential critical essays "The Literature of Exhaustion" and the "Literature of Replenishment." Walkiewicz's appraisal of the intertextual relation of the collection of Barth short stories, novels, and recent forays into the realm of autobiographical fiction illuminates the dramatic shifts in Barth's professional career and literary style. Drawing together Barth's varied and complex sources in myth, music and modern madness, Walkiewicz offers a unified reading of his many guises, thus deciphering the enigma presented by Barth and his work. ISBN 0-8057-7461-0: $18.95.