Reference Reviews

Reference for Students

Novels for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Novels. Edited by Mark Milne. Detroit, Mich.: Thomson Gale, 2007. 1 vol. 332 p. $100.00. ISBN-10: 0-7876-8682-4; ISBN-13: 978-0-7876-8682-6.

Twelve novels are discussed here: "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay," "American Pastoral," "Cold Mountain," "David Copperfield," "The Deerslayer," "Empire Falls," "The Good Earth," "In Babylon," "Independence Day," "No-No Boy," "Stones from the River" and "Waiting." Each has an author biography, a plot summary, characters, themes, style, historical context, critical overview, sources, and suggestions for further reading. Inset boxes provide quotations, "Topics for Further Study," "Media Adaptations," "Compare and Contrast" and "What Do I Read Next?" Some photographs show the authors, book jackets, or other scenes. The Appendix has a "Cumulative Author/Title Index" and a "Cumulative Nationality/Ethnicity Index for all previous volumes and a "Subject/Theme Index" just for this volume. Literature teachers will enjoy the ideas provided for research papers and the lists of critical sources that will model for students how to write literary criticism.