Perhaps no one has reclaimed the indispensible value of creative fiction with greater verve, style and intellect than Paul West in this first of four collections which review a panoply of works written from around the world. These six essays and fifty reviews consider the works of such writers as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Vargas Llosa, Herman Hesse, Hermann Broch, Christa Wolf and Blaise Cendrars. An essential book for lovers of the twentieth-century novel. "Sheer pleasure." "€" Kirkus Reviews "Sheer joy." "€" The New York Times "Compared to his, most literary criticism is a genteel snooze" "€" Publishers Weekly "Accessible to ordinary readers" "€" Small Press Book Review ‹€‹