Benny Andersen: A Critical Study

(Hardback)

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Marx's perceptive, crisply written monograph, which also includes a selected bibliography and an Andersen chronology, provides a wealth of quotes that not only serve as a foundation for her textual readings, but give the reader unacquainted with Andersen's work an opportunity to experience it at length. Thus her book is appropriate both for those seeking an introduction to Andersen and for those already familiar with him. ... Overall, by showing how Andersen uses humor to seriously explore the complex ethical and existential problems facing the individual in the modern world, Marx enables the reader to appreciate Andersen's art, his commitment to humanistic values, and his contribution to Western literature. Benny Andersen will no doubt foster what is long overdue: a greater interest in Andersen's work in the English-speaking world.-Studies in the Humanities
This first book-length study on one of Scandinavia's best-known and best-liked contemporary authors gives the reader some valuable background information on Andersen's times as well as a series of concise and convincing analyses of a number of Andersen's texts. ... Marx succeeds in demonstrating that existentialist themes echo in Andersen's works and that these ought to be taken as very serious protests against inauthenticity whether it is to be found in the personal lives of individuals or in a society. ... Marx's critical introduction to this remarkable author is appropriate for upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and general readers.-Choice
"This first book-length study on one of Scandinavia's best-known and best-liked contemporary authors gives the reader some valuable background information on Andersen's times as well as a series of concise and convincing analyses of a number of Andersen's texts. ... Marx succeeds in demonstrating that existentialist themes echo in Andersen's works and that these ought to be taken as very serious protests against inauthenticity whether it is to be found in the personal lives of individuals or in a society. ... Marx's critical introduction to this remarkable author is appropriate for upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and general readers."-Choice
"Marx's perceptive, crisply written monograph, which also includes a selected bibliography and an Andersen chronology, provides a wealth of quotes that not only serve as a foundation for her textual readings, but give the reader unacquainted with Andersen's work an opportunity to experience it at length. Thus her book is appropriate both for those seeking an introduction to Andersen and for those already familiar with him. ... Overall, by showing how Andersen uses humor to seriously explore the complex ethical and existential problems facing the individual in the modern world, Marx enables the reader to appreciate Andersen's art, his commitment to humanistic values, and his contribution to Western literature. Benny Andersen will no doubt foster what is long overdue: a greater interest in Andersen's work in the English-speaking world."-Studies in the Humanities

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rx /f Leonie