For anyone interested in progressions of themes or the Grotesque within art or literature, this book is a must-read. In fact, I'd say it's a must-read for anyone interested in reading about 20th Century American literature or photography. Goodwin's first chapter is a fairly dense (if fascinating) introduction to the Grotesque, but after that beginning, the book is both fascinating and readable with a good balance of detail and overview. Admittedly, I only planned on reading the chapters on literature with any careful attention, but in the end, I was just as wrapped up in the chapters on photography. (For readers interested in one or the other, however, all chapters but the first and last are fairly focused on Either literature or photography.)

In both areas, Goodwin provides a careful overview, but also focuses in on some artists of the most interest as related to the Grotesque. Photographers given real focus include Diane Arbus and Weegee while writers given careful focus include Sherwood Anderson, Nathanael West, and Flannery O'Connor.

In the end, this book was informative and smartly put together. The author's clearly objective stance, and his attention to varying viewpoints and controversies, made the book a perfect overview of how ideas and presentations of the Grotesque have played a part in American art and literature, and how those developments came about. Notably, Goodwin also engaged in the question of what the Grotesque entails, and how the term has evolved over time. If I were to give one criticism, it would be that there is no mention of the Grotesque as playing a part in poetry or who those poets engaging with the concept might be; I also would have liked a brief look at how America's use of the Grotesque intersects or diverges from its appearance in other nations, but given the scope of this already ambitious work, that seems a small oversight considering the title of the work.

In the end, if you're interested at all in the subject as presented by the title of the work, you'll do yourself a favor in picking up this book. Once you get past the first chapter/introduction, you won't want to put it down. Highly recommended. ( )