\s mYevtew KALEIDOSCOPE - University of British Columbia

BOOKS IN REVIEWlity and the degree of insight they offer,are generally well written, and many offertantalizing opportunities for debate anddisagreement. Powe argues that Laytonhas become trapped by his role as "theraging bull" of Canadian letters and suggeststhat his prose consists of "nothingmore than impudent filibusters and impatientlectures"; however, his lyrics are"the most indispensable of any Canadianpoet of his generation." The essay onLeonard Cohen, while superficial in itstreatment of complex and enigmaticworks such as Beautiful Losers and Deathof a Lady's Man, expresses a genuinesense of regret at what Powe regards asCohen's increasing solipsism and nihilismas well as "his preference for sentiment,sensation, and confusion over irony,clarity, and thought." Margaret Laurence'sfictional world is, in Powe's view,"often dull, dour, repetitive, and clumsilyconstructed," but he affirms the readabilityof her work and its "compassionatehonesty." Powe regards Robertson Daviesas a comic moralist who writes cunningpolemical essays in a polished and elegantstyle, and he describes Mordecai Richleras "an accountant of hypocrisies" with asuperb sense of "the nuances of streettalk"and the uses of satire. The harshestand perhaps most controversial remarksin A Climate Charged are reserved forMargaret Atwood. While acknowledgingher technical polish, Powe complains ofthe artificiality of her novels and takesaim at her obsession with "how to act"rather than "how to live." Powe goeswell beyond the familiar and often timidsuggestions of an absence of feeling inAtwood's writing, a quality of cold intellectuality,to argue that "no balance isattained in her books, no tension, nocontradiction, no otherness, no love, norecognition of wisdom or will."Although Powe does not appear to bewell-informed about the critical debateassociated with these authors, he is capableof careful analysis and detailed argument,and his approach reveals a breadthof reading, a freshness, and a determinationto arrive at a clear-sighted evaluationof their achievement. Summary andgeneralization inevitably limit the effectivenessof these essays, but Powe demonstratesa capacity for intelligent readingand original assessments. At times herelies too heavily on "aphoristic soundings"rather than sustained analysis but,if his conclusions are not always convincing,they are, nevertheless frequently unsettlingand thought-provoking.Although the critical climate Powe disparageshas already shown evidence ofconsiderable change, A Climate Chargedmakes a worthwhile contribution to thedebate surrounding the reassessment andrevitalization of Canadian literary criticism.Powe is capable of astute insights,and his style, which ranges from formalto informal, is engaging. Wit and energyas well as a sense of urgency are prominentfeatures of several of these essaysand candour as well as a good-humouredfairness characterizes his judgements.Unencumbered by specific critical systems,Powe provides a timely and promisingaffirmation of the process of findingnew directions for Canadiancriticism.THE WILDE SIDEliteraryDOUG DAYMONDFELIX PAÚL GRÈVE, Oscar Wilde. WilliamHoffer, n.p.WHEN THE FIRST EDITION of this essaywas still in press (in Berlin, with Goseand Tetzlaff, 1903) Felix Paul Grève wastried and imprisoned for fraud. He hadonly too successfully imitated Wilde'sextravagance, dandyism, and penchantfor scandal. Many of the comments161