[The] steady superiority of Professor Larson [in The Emergence of African Fiction] is a reflection of his real familiarity with both classical and contemporary fiction, and of his finer critical judgment. The former prevents him from applying some strict and inappropriate notion of the "proper" novel to the material before him, while the latter enables him to look carefully at what is actually present in the work under review. Thus he makes some really interesting observations on the relative "plotlessness" of the first part of Things Fall Apart, on Achebe's preference for exhibiting character in action rather than through description or extensive dialogue or monologue, and on his use of short conte-like sequences within his novel to create a density of background for the principal action.

Professor Larson is also at least adequate in his discussion of [Wole Soyinka's] The Interpreters, and correctly identifies it as belonging with...