Hell and Back: Reflections on Writers and Writing from Dante to Rushdie

HELL AND BACK offers a wide range of wonderfully challenging, always provocative reflections on literature and the art of writing. The lead essay on Dante sets the tone for the entire collection: erudite, contemplative, witty, and meticulous, it constantly offers new insights into The Inferno. Mixing biographical background with astute literary detection, Parks writes also of Samuel Beckett, Jorge Luis Borges, Henry Green, Salman Rushdie, Jose Saramago, Christina Stead, and a dozen others. ìWriterly Rancourîówhich Parks calls ìthe fizz of contradiction . . . at the heart of the writing endeavorîóis itself worth the price of admission.