Are You in the House Alone? | Literary Qualities
Richard Peck's literary reputation sometimes suffers because critics identify his works as "problem novels." In Only Connect (see For Further Reference section below), Sheila Egoff contends that adolescent problem novels are too narrow and external because they grow from a specific social problem rather than from a writer's personal vision of the human condition. Egoff delineates the formula followed by problem novels: the protagonist is alienated from, and hostile to, the adult world; an unconventional adult is the only person who understands the protagonist; and the first-person...
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