SOURCE: Frohock, W. M., Gregory Fitz Gerald, and Eric Steel. “Picaresque and Modern Literature: A Conversation with W. H. Frohock.” Edited by Philip L. Gerber and Robert J. Gemmett. Genre 13, no. 2 (1971): 187-97.

In this interview, Frohock discusses the characteristics of the picaresque novel and the possibility of a modern picaresque.

[Steel:] Mr. Frohock, you have said that you feel the term picaresque has been used for too loosely in describing modern fiction. At the same time you admit that many modern works contain features that can be legitimately classified as picaresque. Since some modern works of fiction exhibit characteristics of the old picaresque it might be a good procedure for the critic to indicate the picaresque features in the novels that he's criticizing and then proceed from there to a further discussion of the novel.

[Frohock:] That's the only way you can proceed when you're talking about literature...