Levinas and medieval literature : the difficult reading of English and rabbinic texts /

At first blush, the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas seems to have little relation to the medieval texts of Chaucer, Langland, and the Pearl poet. However, this demanding but valuable collection finds many connections between Levinas's ideas of the Other, the face, and the ethics of writing and the concerns of medieval writers, those already named and others. In addition to offering essays on the Christian writers mentioned above, the book looks at rabbinical texts and commentaries on various biblical passages. And though many of the essays do indeed focus on these canonical writers, one also finds intriguing discussions of barely known texts, such as the Brome Abraham and Isaac, a 15th-century play, and The Awntyrs off Arthure, an Arthurian poem. All of the essays argue more or less openly for Levinas's ethical understanding of literature as both a valuable critical tool and a vital step toward understanding medieval writers and texts. Although Astell (theology, Univ. of Notre Dame) and Jackson (English, Hillsdale College) do a commendable job of setting the stage in their introduction, the collection will be slow going for those unfamiliar with Levinas's theories; however, the careful reader will be repaid with a thoughtful new way to view medieval texts. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty. A. Castaldo Widener University