[ The] book succeeds in conveying Barthess awareness and engagement with thinkers and writers of his time as well as his dynamic curiosity for future lines of thought, both of which continue to make his corpus, like modernism itself, so tantalizingly resistant to the unrelenting tenacity of academic labelling. * French Studies * Understanding Barthes, Understanding Modernism is a further testament to the enduring insistence of the writing and thought of Roland Barthes. Mapping Barthes' brilliance across the inevitably multiple and heterogeneous constellation of his interventions, exploring and extending his legacies, and, in superbly Barthesian style, offering punctual insights into the "conceptual inventory' generated by his writing, the volume succeeds in making of the reading of Barthes' work a paradoxical experience of newness and return. The volume will be required reading for any who seek to understand Barthes' vital contribution to his time and ours. * Patrick ffrench, Professor of French, Kings College London, UK * An extremely stimulating collection by a transatlantic group of distinguished contributors, this volume combines very rich essays on many aspects of Barthes work, from the earliest to the latest, with useful summaries of key ideas. Any student of Roland Barthes will find things of interest here. * Jonathan Culler, Class of 1916 Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Emeritus, Cornell University, USA * Reading Barthes means thinking about modernity in all its forms. Providing a panoramic account of Barthess engagement with literature, aesthetics, popular culture, and philosophy, the essays in this collection illuminate our understanding of Barthess multi-faceted thought and show how his insights continue to resonate and to inform inquiry across disciplinary boundaries. -- Lucy OMeara, University of Kent, UK * Modern Language Review * This book is a necessary inclusion on the shelf of any Barthes scholar as it fully explores the vast constellation of his thought through nuanced and comprehensive studies and applications of his work. -- Christopher OHara, University of St Andrews, UK * Forum for Modern Language Studies *
