Reviews
“Impeccably scholarly and full of imaginative surprises, Wrestling with the Left ranks with the most revealing criticism ever produced on Ralph Ellison. Nowhere else is the gestation of Invisible Man and the youngish intellectual who conceived it discussed so fully and incisively.�- William J. Maxwell , author of New Negro, Old Left: African-American Writing and Communism Between the Wars, "We are not likely to get a more capacious and visionary political re-reading--or re-writing--of Invisible Man ." , "Seeking the truth (pro and con) about Ellison's complex engagement with Communism, Barbara Foley has written a book indispensable to Ellison studies. She is a tireless scholar who has mastered, like no one before her, the daunting jungle of manuscripts that amply documents Ellison's indebtedness to, and also his calculated later airbrushing of, the vitality and generosity of the radicals who nourished him on the long road to Invisible Man . Stern but fair, Barbara Foley is a shrewd, lively, lucid writer with a fascinating if controversial tale to tell. This book ably fills perhaps the biggest gap in our critical and biographical understanding of Ralph Ellison."-- Arnold Rampersad , author of Ralph Ellison: A Biography, "Seeking the truth (pro and con) about Ellison's complex engagement with Communism, Barbara Foley has written a book indispensable to Ellison studies. She is a tireless scholar who has mastered, like no one before her, the daunting jungle of manuscripts that amply documents Ellison's indebtedness to, and also his calculated later airbrushing of, the vitality and generosity of the radicals who nourished him on the long road to Invisible Man . Stern but fair, Barbara Foley is a shrewd, lively, lucid writer with a fascinating if controversial tale to tell. This book ably fills perhaps the biggest gap in our critical and biographical understanding of Ralph Ellison."- Arnold Rampersad , author of Ralph Ellison: A Biography, Fans of Ralph Ellison must put Barbara Foley's Wrestling with the Left on their reading list. This substantial critical study, some fifteen years in the making, returns to early drafts of Invisible Man to offer a bold new reading of one of the most acclaimed American novels of the twentieth century.... After Foley's analysis of the material in Ellison's drafts, one in fact gains an even greater appreciation for the richness and complexity of what remains one of the great works of American literature., "Impeccably scholarly and full of imaginative surprises, Wrestling with the Left ranks with the most revealing criticism ever produced on Ralph Ellison. Nowhere else is the gestation of Invisible Man and the youngish intellectual who conceived it discussed so fully and incisively."- William J. Maxwell , author of New Negro, Old Left: African-American Writing and Communism Between the Wars, Wrestling with the Left is profoundly significant. It is a monumental, scrupulously researched, solidly argued reading of Invisible Man, a novel central to the history and teaching of African American literature and American modernism., Wrestling with the Left upends critical conversations about Ellison, Invisible Man , and the Communist legacy. By showing canonical interpretations of Invisible Man to be the politically-motivated discourses they are, Barbara Foley reopens rather than colonizes the question of Ralph Ellison's politics. Any future attempts to wrestle with Ralph Ellison and his visions of Black identity, culture, art, history, and American society would do well to emulate the unapologetic political commitment and clarity of purpose of Foley's work., " Wrestling with the Left upends critical conversations about Ellison, Invisible Man , and the Communist legacy. By showing canonical interpretations of Invisible Man to be the politically-motivated discourses they are, Barbara Foley reopens rather than colonizes the question of Ralph Ellison's politics. Any future attempts to wrestle with Ralph Ellison and his visions of Black identity, culture, art, history, and American society would do well to emulate the unapologetic political commitment and clarity of purpose of Foley's work. " - Nathaniel Mills, Against the Current, "Fans of Ralph Ellison must put Barbara Foley's Wrestling with the Left on their reading list. This substantial critical study, some fifteen years in the making, returns to early drafts of Invisible Man to offer a bold new reading of one of the most acclaimed American novels of the twentieth century.... After Foley's analysis of the material in Ellison's drafts, one in fact gains an even greater appreciation for the richness and complexity of what remains one of the great works of American literature." - Brian Dolinar, African American Review, "Impeccably scholarly yet full of imaginative surprises,Wrestling with the Leftranks with the most revealing criticism ever produced on Ralph Ellison. Nowhere else is the gestation of Invisible Man And The youngish intellectual who conceived it discussed so fully and incisively."-William J. Maxwell, author ofNew Negro, Old Left: African-American Writing and Communism between the Wars"Seeking the truth (pro and con) about Ellison's complex engagement with communism, Barbara Foley has written a book indispensable to Ellison studies. She is a tireless scholar who has mastered, like no one before her, The daunting jungle of manuscripts that amply documents both his indebtedness to, and also his calculated later airbrushing of, The vitality and generosity of the radicals who nourished him on the long road toInvisible Man. Stern but fair, Foley is a shrewd, lively, lucid writer with a fascinating if controversial tale to tell. This book ably fills perhaps the biggest gap in our critical and biographical understanding of Ralph Ellison."-Arnold Rampersad, Stanford University, Foley is careful, lucid, thorough, and fair, and her book stands as a strong corrective to more reductive readings of Ellison's novel and of his life., "Impeccably scholarly and full of imaginative surprises, Wrestling with the Left ranks with the most revealing criticism ever produced on Ralph Ellison. Nowhere else is the gestation of Invisible Man and the youngish intellectual who conceived it discussed so fully and incisively."-- William J. Maxwell , author of New Negro, Old Left: African-American Writing and Communism Between the Wars, "Foley is careful, lucid, thorough, and fair, and her book stands as a strong corrective to more reductive readings of Ellison's novel and of his life." - Alan Nadel, American Literature, “Seeking the truth (pro and con) about Ellison’s complex engagement with Communism, Barbara Foley has written a book indispensable to Ellison studies. She is a tireless scholar who has mastered, like no one before her, the daunting jungle of manuscripts that amply documents Ellison’s indebtedness to, and also his calculated later airbrushing of, the vitality and generosity of the radicals who nourished him on the long road to Invisible Man . Stern but fair, Barbara Foley is a shrewd, lively, lucid writer with a fascinating if controversial tale to tell. This book ably fills perhaps the biggest gap in our critical and biographical understanding of Ralph Ellison.�- Arnold Rampersad , author of Ralph Ellison: A Biography
