Criticism > Contemporary Literary Criticism > Kroetsch, Robert (Vol. 132) - Tim Bowling (essay review November 1995)


Kroetsch, Robert (Vol. 132) - Tim Bowling (essay review November 1995)

Tim Bowling (essay review November 1995)

SOURCE: “A Somewhat Schizophrenic Package: Robert Kroetsch’s Anti-Memoirs,” in Books in Canada, Vol. 24, No. 8, November, 1995, p. 15.

[In the following review, Bowling finds A Likely Story compelling but ultimately uneven because of Kroetsch's overbearing use of theory.]

The most important point to make about A Likely Story is that it’s not an autobiography, at least not in any conventional sense. In fact, the author himself claims that such a genre is impossible. As a result, the book is entirely free of literary gossip, contains only a minimal amount of personal information, and avoids the axe-grinding that often accompanies writers’ explorations of their careers. Yes, this does sound dull, but Robert Kroetsch is one of Canada’s liveliest and most original literary theorists, not to mention an accomplished poet and novelist, and what he has to say about writing makes...

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