"Witty, intelligent, and provocative. . . . Beyond Suspicion is certainly one of the best works on contemporary American fiction. . . . It is unique in the sheer breadth and comprehensiveness of its coverage, the wide-ranging inclusiveness of its appreciations, and the generosity of its enthusiasms. Chenetier's book is indispensable reading for anyone at all interested in American fiction of the past thirty years."
"From Abish (Walter) to Zukovsky (Louis), Chenetier has read everything, and one can only admire the sovereign ease with which he has assimilated the enormous corpus and brings it into perspective for the reader. . . . Learned, lucid, and often witty, packed with sharp insights and provocative comments, continuously enlightening, [Beyond Suspicion ] . . . should be read by everyone interested in the turbulent fictions of today."
in a review of the French edition. Modern Fiction Studies
"Covers everything from Salinger, Nabokov, Kerouac, and Burroughs to the first hints of cyberpunkishness and textual appropriation that have come to characterize the 1990s. . . . The true brilliance of Beyond Suspicion . . . is Chenetier's ability to keep all of this era's critics seated at the table in genuine dialogue. . . . His insights are rarely exclusionary, yet his consensus-building never rests on compromise."—American Book Review
"Witty, intelligent, and provocative. . . . Beyond Suspicion is certainly one of the best works on contemporary American fiction. . . . It is unique in the sheer breadth and comprehensiveness of its coverage, the wide-ranging inclusiveness of its appreciations, and the generosity of its enthusiasms. Chenetier's book is indispensable reading for anyone at all interested in American fiction of the past thirty years."—Tony Tanner, King's College, Cambridge
"From Abish (Walter) to Zukovsky (Louis), Chenetier has read everything, and one can only admire the sovereign ease with which he has assimilated the enormous corpus and brings it into perspective for the reader. . . . Learned, lucid, and often witty, packed with sharp insights and provocative comments, continuously enlightening, [Beyond Suspicion ] . . . should be read by everyone interested in the turbulent fictions of today."—Modern Fiction Studies , in a review of the French edition.
Chenetier (American literature, Ecole Normale Superieure de Fontenay-St. Cloud, France) analyzes developments in American fiction between 1960 and the 1990s, focusing on the works of authors such as Gaddis, Pynchon, Elkin, Nabokov, Barth, and Coover. He argues that traditional generic approaches to American fiction are misleading, rejecting the categorization of works by their writer's region, race, and gender, and suggests an examination of works from a variety of artistic and epistemological viewpoints. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
