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foxwrapped's review
3.0
More basic theory stuff. I wish it held together more cohesively. This is basically a dictionary of different lit theories with goofy drawings.
boomt's review
4.0
I escaped direct contact with critical theory as an undergraduate. Subsequently, whenever I read passages from Barthes, or encountered references to poststructuralism, intertextuality, and the like, I felt both ignorant and suspicious that the whole enterprise was an academic sham. This book provides a lucid overview of the evolution of critical theory from the grand narrative of Marxism to postmodernism and its various spinoffs. Don't be fooled by the graphic novel format. This is a serious, clearly written synopsis that traces the lineage of the key concepts and provides a foundation for further reading and investigation.
joecam79's review
3.0
Icon Books' "Introducing..." series is an ever-growing collection of graphic guides on a variety of subjects, particularly in the fields of philosophy, art and culture. They provide a fun way of approaching quite cerebral topics, the concise, lucid texts accompanied by striking cartoons by surrealist illustrator Boris van Loon brimming with visual gags.
In the series's strengths, however, lie also its weaknesses. Sometimes, the subjects covered are simply too vast to be comprehensively approached in such a book. Such is the case with Stuart Sim's volume on critical theory. On the whole, Sim makes a good job of condensing complex arguments, but unless one already has some background in the subject, the quick succession of contradictory views may be rather confusing. There is also quite a bombardment of technical terms (half of which I'll have forgotten in a few weeks). This is not surprising - some of the major figures (such as Barthes, Baudrillard, Foucault, Derrida) who are tackled in a couple of pages in this book, get a volume all to themselves in the same series.
That said, provided one takes the book for what it is meant to be - a brief, tentative dip into a vast waters - it is certainly worth reading. For instance, as a non-specialist, it made me realise what a strong link there is between political ideologies and modern literary theory, and also what a major influence Marx was (and still is) both on his supporters and his critics. This volume would probably be handy also for students preparing for exams who need a quick, enjoyable refresher on the subject.
In the series's strengths, however, lie also its weaknesses. Sometimes, the subjects covered are simply too vast to be comprehensively approached in such a book. Such is the case with Stuart Sim's volume on critical theory. On the whole, Sim makes a good job of condensing complex arguments, but unless one already has some background in the subject, the quick succession of contradictory views may be rather confusing. There is also quite a bombardment of technical terms (half of which I'll have forgotten in a few weeks). This is not surprising - some of the major figures (such as Barthes, Baudrillard, Foucault, Derrida) who are tackled in a couple of pages in this book, get a volume all to themselves in the same series.
That said, provided one takes the book for what it is meant to be - a brief, tentative dip into a vast waters - it is certainly worth reading. For instance, as a non-specialist, it made me realise what a strong link there is between political ideologies and modern literary theory, and also what a major influence Marx was (and still is) both on his supporters and his critics. This volume would probably be handy also for students preparing for exams who need a quick, enjoyable refresher on the subject.
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