“I just skimmed this book, reading only Bloom's take on a handful of authors and his chapter summaries. It is an uneven collection of essays. It is only when dealing with his favorite authors (Shakespeare, Cormac McCarthy, Faulkner) that his discussion becomes rapt and interesting. Bloom's answers to the two central questions (How to read? Why read?) seem forced. Bloom is not a very articulate critic in the sense that his appreciation of a writer's merits is often obfuscated by his canonical tendencies. Only his ego blooms in some of these pages.”
Rise wrote this review Monday, February 16, 2009.
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