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Mathew Beaumont (ed.), Adventures in Realism. Malden, MA and Oxford: Blackwell, 2007. £50.00. 280 pp

We have much need of this book. The whole general topic of realism has been sadly neglected in recent years. Think of all the critical work done on modernism and in contrast, you see how little has been done on its pale and forlorn forebear. Is realism really that uninteresting? Is it as it is often depicted – predictable, formulaic, facile, dull? It is time to move beyond this unexamined indifference, and beyond the usual stereotypical notions of its linearity, transparency and such. It is time because postmodernism and poststructuralism – for which realism was a singularly naive and simple-minded project – have now stalled, the wind fallen from their sails. And it is time to reconsider realism because realism matters, not just philosophically or aesthetically, but politically as well – as Brecht knew, and Barthes forgot, or rather understood only through the lens of representation. Anti-realism has had the stage long enough. This collection of essays is designed to bring realism centre-stage again. It treats not only literature, but also photography, painting and film, and offers a serious provocation to the hitherto established consensus on the non-referentiality of art forms and media representations. Realism is central to western modernity and the book regards it as so. Its 14 rewarding essays are capped by a concluding note from Fredric Jameson. Mathew Beaumont is to be congratulated on putting together such an impressive set of authors.