MLR, 102.1, 2007 247 of the strategies used by evoluewriters inorder to carve theirown innovative position within this colonial context. Dunwoodie's firstthreechapters offera thorough contextualization of the colonial situation, providing a sound introduction for those less familiarwith the field.He summarizes the history of French colonialism inAlgeria and reviews the develop ment of the roles of thepress inAlgerian writing, charting the emergence of different camps of thought. Particular attention ispaid to thebilingual papers Ikdam, La Voix indigene,and La Defense. Alongside his non-fiction analysis, Dunwoodie examines the various viewpoints and strategies employed tocounter dominant colonial stereotypes innovels such asAhmed ben Mostapha,goumier (I 920), Zohra,femme dumineur (I 925), Khadra, danseuse Ouled Nail (I926), and Aichouch laDjellabya, princesse saharienne (I932). He highlights some of themore contentious issues tackled by evoluewriters such as literaryagency, the influence of Islam, the role ofwomen, and thevery nature of the term 'history' and what itmeans to colonized peoples. In Chapter 2 he per suasively claims that dominant colonial discourses were destabilized and decentred in novels by the use of peritextual features such as epigraphs, footnotes, proverbs, and continued reference to theQur'an andMuslim practices, forcing readers to en gage with the native heritage. Dunwoodie examines the important role ofAlgerian Muslim women, who frequently acted as bridges between tradition andmodernity in evoluewriting. However, he argues convincingly thatwomen were often the scapegoat of evoluewriters, who blamed them fordenying Algerians access tomodernity. His analysis shows that the dilemma of assimilation is never satisfactorily resolved and Dunwoodie concludes that themost the evolues can hope to do isprovoke a destabi lization and reconsideration of dominant discourses. This work iswritten in an accessible style and all French quotations are accom panied by English translations. It also contains useful appendices, which include chronological data from the colonial period, plot summaries for fictional novels, and a list of newspapers and their respective political positions. In some cases, original publishers' prefaces are also included for further reference. Dunwoodie has pro duced an invaluable aid forall thosewith an interest inAlgerian history, identity,and (post)colonialism. UNIVERSITY OFWALES SWANSEA SOPHIE SMITH Rene Char I: Le 'Pays' dans la poesie de Char de I946 a I970. Ed. by PATRICKNEE and DANIELE LECLAIR. (Revue des Lettres Modernes) Paris and Caen: Lettres Modernes Minard. 2005. 234 pp. ?23.75. ISBN 978-2-256-9Io95-I. This firstvolume of the new Rene Char series augurs well for theentire project. The editors have prepared an eight-essay production, with introductory essays by Patrick Nee, discussing theoutline of this volume, and by Jean-Claude Mathieu, who knew Rene Char overmany years and frames the essays accordingly. Iwas especially impressed by thepresentations of the editors, ofMathieu, ofMar tineCreac'h on place names, and ofChristine Dupouy, who entitles her superb essay 'EntreTerre et Pays-Paysage'. She makes thebridge between 'terre' and 'nature', as indeed it should be made. And as Char did not always make it: as Dupouy says, he was not always sensitive to the natural world. For, in the surrealist epoch, in revolt against so much in his youth, we recognize so seldom any particular country and place. All ofwhich reinforces the strong sense we have here of both self and place. And what we cross over to find thepoets we love iswhat we won't be forgetting. Her titleproves itselfcrucial to the immense importance of earth and land toRene Char as I knew him over theyears-having chosen to live,with my small family,near his Isle-sur-Sorgue and his land and home. 248 Reviews To begin thewhole serieswith the idea of 'pays' seems tome just right.On a per sonal note, Iwill never forget the day Char said to our family: 'Etmaintenant, vous etes Pays'. We heard in thatword thecapital letter, making such a difference between a simple land or country and one's own chosen or awarded Country. Place mattered toChar intensely and immensely-and to all who knew and know him through his writings-and so itwill to those fortunate readers who will know him freshlynow through these carefully selected writings. GRADUATE SCHOOL, CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK MARY ANN CAWS Love and Sexuality: New Approaches inFrench Studies. Ed. by SARAHF. DONACHIE and KIM...