The West Indian Novel by Michael Gilkes (review)

134ROCKY MOUNTAIN REVIEW American colleges and universities in which, quite generally, Faust is read in translation , but mostly Part I only. Since Gearey's work has from the outset been conceived with an English-speaking audience in mind, it will, especially as a unified presentation, serve such teachers better, I believe, than the articles at the end of the Arndt-Hamlin translation (New York: Norton, 1976), for fully half of the twelve contributions there are translated articles that were written for German-speaking readers intimately familiar with the German original. On the other hand, Gearey's book is by no means of interest only to teachers of such courses, for it is first of all a serious study that seeks to explain the form of the poem as a result of its genesis: "For the Goethe who began was not the Goethe who finished his Faust. Over the years a somewhat different poet and thinker seems each time to have returned to his task, and a somewhat different conception of the task to have presented itself each time he approached. We have in Faust not only the expression of a new philosophy of life but also the demonstration through the work of the faith in that same philosophy of evolution and change. In that lies its truly exceptional nature" (pp. ix-x). Gearey discusses many of the problems familiar to all who have earnestly attempted to understand Goethe's poem, e.g., the question of its unity, whether it is a drama, epic poem, or something else, the work's many paradoxes, etc. In all important matters regarding the composition of Faust he follows Eudo Mason, Goethe's Faust: Its Genesis and Purport (p. 99, n. 7). The most rewarding aspect of his study, however, is his probing into the relationship of Goethe's other works to the writing of Faust. In addition, he gives us some startling insights: "There is a sense in...Faust that mankind is not only redeemable, but already redeemed in nature" (p. 178); "Faust is a work in the subjunctive, and the subjunctive knows no bounds" (p. 56); "One begins by thinking about Goethe and ends by thinking like him" (p. 1); and, finally, "If Part I was a drama in search of a theme, in that its initial dramatic action had to be absorbed into a broader philosophical scheme, Part II is a theme in search of a drama" (p. 216). Gearey's book is well written, and his diction is commensurate with his subject. There are very few printing errors. A six-page index of names and of the titles of Goethe's works is useful. MAX DUFNER University of Arizona Michael Gilkes. The West Indian Novel. Boston: Twayne, 1981. 168p. While the U.S. reader cannot be considered unexposed to West Indian (i.e., Caribbean Anglophone) writings, the picture that comes through to the nonspecialist has some unhappy imbalances. V.S. Naipaul attracts an inordinate share of the attention, constantly stylish and witty as he issues warnings against the romantic folly of admiring any aspect of the Third World (or even using this tainted term). His brother Shiva seems ready to assume a like role with the excerpting of his new Jonestown book in The New Republic and other signs of having arrived. Exilepoets, especially Derek Walcott, can claim notice, as can the novelist George Lamming with his In the Castle of My Skin. Wilson Harris's novels are issued by the highly visible Faber & Faber, but without a supporting context of critical reaction, it is difficult for the noninitiated reader to begin to penetrate their magical discourse. Non exiles, e.g. the skillful Guyanese poet Martin Carter, who publishes with Release, are unlikely to find readers abroad. Book Reviews135 Michael Gilkes has bravely taken up the work of providing guidance through the novelistic sector of this terrain of half-known or vaguely heard-of writers. His basic organizational plan isa sound one, consisting of detailed commentary on a few essential works interspersed with overall observations on general tendencies. There is no attempt at a panoramic dictionary-like coverage (already provided, in any case, by Donald Herdeck, ed., Caribbean Writers: A Bio-Bibliographic...