English Language Criticism Foreign Novel

Critical interest in foreign novels, especially the Latin American and African novel, has burgeoned in the past two decades. The purpose of this reference bibliography is to provide easier access to the criticism produced from 1965 to 1975 on novels published in Africa, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Canada, Australia, and the middle East. A second volume will cover criticism between 1976 and 1985.

Throughout this work, the term “foreign novel” includes novels and other longer works of fiction produced in all countries other than the United States and the United Kingdom. Coverage ranges in time of writing from Apuleius’ Metamorphosis (first century, A.D.) and Murasaki’s Tale of Genji (11th century) to Garcia Marquez’s 100 Years of Solitude (1967) and Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing (1972). The 277 journals—chosen primarily because of their wide circulation—and 584 books indexed for relevant material contribute to the 13,000 bibliographic citations on 1,500 authors. This is a reference tool which is surely essential for any library or world literature scholar.

Harriet Semmes Alexander is a reference librarian and assistant professor at Memphis State University. She is also the recipient of the Tennessee Library Association’s Frances Neel Cheney Award for 1995.