Product Description

Critical introductions to a range of literary topics and genres. The Great War of 1914-18 continues to fascinate readers and writers. This book aims to explore the different ways in which this war has featured both as a genre and as a theme in British literature of the past century; it asks what actually is the literature of the Great War, and looks at different ways in which people have read this literature, reacted to it and used it.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #58898 in Books
• Published on: 2000-04-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Customer Reviews

A very useful book for A level students of FWW literature
Adrian Barlow's book is a very useful introduction for anyone teaching FWW literature to A-level students. It is thoughtfully written and clearly laid out. There are some very useful features, including a section on how to approach FWW texts, several extracts from novels and letters as well as several poems (including some less well-known poems, I am pleased to see). There is also a good section on 'Critical Approaches' to FWW literature - including much needed and valuable comments on anthologising the FWW and gender & feminist approaches to the literature. There is also a discussion of how to write about 'the Great War in British literature' which I am sure students will find helpful, plus a selection of resources - including a short list of web sites. All in all this is a very good book and worth its price. I would not hesitate to recommend it.

Disappointing
I bought this book to find out more about the literature of the First World War. Yet, when I opened it, I was surprised to find a lack of information about even the most famous poems and books on the subject. And then I found the reason: on page 9 of the introduction, the writer explains his choice of texts and extracts in Part 3 (pages 73-95): "Most of the material in this section is not easily accessible elsewhere; poems already easily found in anthologies of war poetry and extracts from familiar novels still in print have not been included". In other words, this book talks a fair bit about books and poems that you probably haven't come across before but you'll look in vain for a complete poem by Owen or a decent extract from one of Sassoon's books. This is really, really annoying. I got the book to help me find my way in to the literature about the period. This book is no help at all. A real waste of money.