Lawlor focuses on the naturalists and how their work reflected and magnified the closure of the U.S., spiritually as well as geographically. In individual chapters on Frank Norris, Jack London, Stephen Crane, and Willa Cather, Lawlor details how these writersÆ literary visions reflect the U.S.Æs loss of freedom and the consequent rise of social constraints, urbanization, and banal existence. . . . A vital and useful re-evaluation of that period of U.s. literature.
Choice
These successes are weighed down by the ambiguous way in which the two major themes of the book are tied together. In short, while the attempt to synthesize the discussion of the West is admirable, it is difficult to provide a suitable review of the topics Lawlor considers, and to link these topics together.
American Studies International
Mary LawlorÆs Recalling the Wild is an extraordinarily bold and original contribution to the study of nineteenth-century American literature and culture. It will surely become an important and influential text both in its field and in the wider discourse of cultural studies at large.
Perry Meisel, New York University