The Cambridge History of South African Literature. /

With the formal dismantling of apartheid and the first democratic elections in 1994, previously inaccessible material became available, thus making possible this project. Comprising 39 essays by 43 contributors, the collection covers literature written in the 11 official languages of South Africa. Attwell and Attridge (both, Univ. of York, UK) divide the volume into six chronological parts that correspond to defining South African literary/historical moments: e.g., part 3, covering 1820-1910, embraces the Boer Wars. The porousness of the chronological divisions results in some overlap. For example, Elsa Joubert's The Long Journey of Poppie Nongena (1980) is cited as an example of Afrikaner literature (in a chapter covering 1948-76), then (post 1976) as an example of women's writing, and finally (post 1994) an as example of the confessional genre, or auto-ethnography, identified with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Notwithstanding this overlap, the identification of both the wellsprings and curvature of South African literature, likened to an archipelago--a constructed land or sea mass distinct in its unity and formation--make the collection a valuable resource. The chapter-end bibliographies add to the book's value. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers. T. L. Jackson St. Cloud State University