Title Details

The study analyzes epic architectures (called in our civilization as novels) developed by various civilizations over the last five millennia. The focus is on the novel-like aesthetic works overlooked in western exegeses and on those which have never been developed or experimented within western culture. The essays expose different sets of values, a new kind of theoretical and critical discourse accommodating epic architectures developed in practically all civilizations and cultural periods: Vedic, Sumerian, Persian, ancient Egyptian, old Hebrews, classical Greek and Roman, down to European during Middle Ages, and further on to the early modernity of the Renaissance. The Civilization of the Novel is a piece of solid scholarship, based on a wealth of excellent bibliographic sources (mostly in English, but also in French, Spanish, Italian, German), accompanied by over 1,000 footnotes, extensive index, and abstracts in English, French, and German. The study is a valuable addition to the study of comparative literature around the world. The book received the 2008 Award of the Romanian Society of Comparative Literature and the 2008 Romanian Academy Award. The Romanian born author is a novelist, literary critic, poet, and retired faculty member of the New York University School of Law.