In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

310ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW Gustave Flaubert. The Temptation of Saint Antony. Translated with an Introduction and Notes by Kitty Mrosovsky. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1981. 293p. Flaubert's Temptation is the most enigmatic of his works and, from his own point of view, the one closest to his inner life as an artist. It has been variously read as an autobiographical projection of the artist-saint's anguished solitary visions, as the expression of a Faustian yearning for knowledge and power, as a pessimistic evocation of universal nothingness and illusion, as a presurrealist tableau of perpetually changing forms, as a syncretist's study of the chaotic multiplicity of mankind's religious beliefs, and as a profession of faith in a materialistic pantheism inspired by the more abstract concept of universal oneness expounded by Spinoza. It can also be interpreted as a kind of metaphysical investigation into the sources of being, a companion-piece to Flaubert's other late novel Bouvard et Pécuchet which carries on a similar investigation into the nature and limits of human knowledge. Professor Mroskovsky's sensitive and informative introduction is divided into seven parts like the novel-philosophical dialogue which it prefaces. She studies the work's sources, both personal and learned, as well as providing a comprehensive critical survey of twentieth-century approaches to it. One senses a lack of focus or direction, however, and more questions are raised than are answered as to meaning of Flaubert's Temptation. The notes that follow the translation are extensive and erudite. The reproductions of illustrations of the legend of Saint Antony by Jacques Callot, Odilon Redon, and others enhance the reader's appreciation of the visual marvels latent in Flaubert's words. The translation itself is a very accurate rendering that reveals the translator's respect for the original text as well as a mastery of English prose style. She has chosen to present only the third, and final, version of the work which is, to be sure, the most structurally unified. Some critics have found this version lacking in the lyrical brilliance of the less coherent earlier ones. The English-speaking reader would perhaps have received a more complete sense of Flaubert's literary development if at least a few of the key scenes in the first and second versions had been included as an appendix. One major printing flaw occurs on p. 70, where what should be the first two lines of text are placed in third and fourth position. JAMES P. GILROY University of Denver Robert E. Fleming with Esther Fleming. Si7iciair Leu'is: A Reference Guide. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1980, 24Op. Bibliographies are inevitably open to criticism in three areas: accuracy, completeness , and timeliness. Accuracy depends solely on the compiler; completeness is a function of hard work and, toa large extent, good luck; and timeliness relies on the publisher's schedule. These variable concerns notwithstanding, enumerative bibliographies such as the ones in the G. K. Hall series provide needed research assistance to students besieged by a proliferation of critical material. Sinclair Lewis: A Reference Guide fills that need as an annotated checklist of writings from 1914 to 1978 about America's first winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. Small slips in accuracy usually emerge during random use of a bibliography and, of course, at the most inopportune time. Spotchecks of some of the 1,278 entries in Sinclair Leivis suggest the Flemings exercised reasonable care in the preparation of their manuscript. BOOK REVIEWS311 Completeness, however, is always difficult, especially when one attempts to catalog a prolific author such as Sinclair Lewis who has attracted so much critical attention. As bibliographers approach their work's terminus ad quern, they simply cannot obtain all of the current articles and reviews which rightfully belong in their catalog. Yet their disclaimers regarding selectivity do not satisfy users. Sinclair Lewis is no exception. A cursory examination of this reference guide reveals only four entries in 1978. A quick check of the MLA International Bibliography for the same year produces two additional references, one in a festschrift and the other from the Yale Review. To wait for the appearance of some journals which stay notoriously behind publication...

pdf

Share