MLR, IOI.3, 2oo6 853 'Matinee d'ivresse', and 'Antique' underscore it.At every turn, there is an emphasis on demystifying the texts and on the very real opportunity to find their meaning. Fongaro refers to 'eclaircissements de detail' (p. 15 i), and we find this regularly in the way he offers specific readings of lines or words in texts that have too often in the past been characterized as ambiguous, obscure, or unreadable. Despite acknowledging Rimbaud's pleasure in apparently trying to baffle the reader-as at the end of 'Parade' and 'H'-Fongaro insists that there is a rationality atwork in the writing of the texts and that as a result the poems aremuch more homogeneous than has previously been stated. Plessen, Todorov, Denis, and Faurisson are just some of the commentators who come in for criticism in the course of the book and, while the reader may at times feel irritated by a certain dogmatism and arrogance on the part of Fongaro, there can be no refutation of the fact that his own readings aremeticulous, cogent, and rooted in close textual analysis. 'Les Ponts', 'Ouvriers', 'Ornieres', and 'Vagabonds' are just four more pieces from the Illuminations that figure in this substantial and impressive collection of articles. They contribute to a lengthy series of intelligent and perceptive readings which the scholar can add to his/her own collection of studies of individual Illuminations without necessarily subscribing unreservedly to Fongaro's contention that previous criticism has been pursuing 'fausses pistes'. Another recurring feature of the Fongaro approach to the Illuminations is his insistence on the role played by 'l'intertextualite interne et externe' (p. 250), but it is important to add that his style is refreshingly jargon-free and that the close engagement with the texts is not weighed down by any opaque theoretical terminology. Clarity, directness, and the search for meaning are the hallmarks of these pieces and these emerge even in the article on 'Veillees', where Fongaro refers to 'une poesie de l'ambiguite dans le flou' (p. 248) and to 'une espece d'art poetique du vague' (p. 248). As the exegeses unfold-'Aube', 'Metropolitain', 'Marine', 'Promontoire' are all dealt with-one is struck by how frequently Fongaro links Rimbaud's work to that of other writers such as de Vigny, Michelet, Baudelaire, and George Sand. This precoccupation with 'the anxiety of influence' characterizes the Fongaro volume for, as he himself says, 'il est evident que les textes litteraires se nourrissent de litterature' (p. 288). The discussion of 'Promontoire' is a telling example of the modus operandi at work here, for in it Fongaro sweeps away the one previous reaction to the poem, namely that it represents some kind of hallucinatory vision. Instead he argues, much more pragmatically, that the poem should be viewed as a satire of contemporary society and all the more virulent as such because it is presented in a calculated and organized way. There could be no better illustration of how Fongaro shifts Rimbaud criticism from the ambiguous to the precise. The concluding analysis of 'Devotion' is both enjoyable and rewarding with its emphasis on the ironic, often sarcastic tone of the piece and its formal caricature of prayer. In summary, this volume will reward the attention of the Rimbaud scholar. It represents a sustained and thoughtful journey through the pages of the Illuminations, a journey that is both insightful at the level of the individual text and thought provoking in terms of the collection as a whole as well as in terms of Rimbaud's poetics in general. UNIVERSITYOFULSTER GERALDMACKLIN Strategies de Rimbaud. By STEVEMURPHY. (Romantisme etModernites, 86) Paris: Champion. 2004. 629pp. ?75. ISBN 2-7453-II22-0. Steve Murphy's book sets out to explore Rimbaud's aesthetics asmanifested in the period I870-75. To this end he engages in 'microlectures de poemes' and seeks a 854 Reviews balance between aesthetic considerations and an understanding of Rimbaud's ethical position. Thus, Murphy's method is characterized by an emphasis upon historical events such as 'laSemaine sanglante' aswell as being underpinned by the conviction that the alleged 'illisibilite' of a collection such as the Illuminations is a position that can be...