Reviews

Below are excerpts from reviews of my work.

Understanding Don DeLillo (2014)

“An outstanding brief introduction to the fiction of American novelist Don DeLillo. Veggian presents insightful, concise discussions of eight of DeLillo’s major novels [his] readings are rigorous and thoughtful, and he is particularly excellent in his discussions of the novels White Noise and Mao II.“― J. Bishoff, University of Minnesota, Choice

“Understanding Don DeLillo represents a very useful tool with which both neophytes and researchers can approach the work of one of the most refined and compelling writers of the contemporary scene Veggian offers a 360-degree view on DeLillo’s writing, including those parts generally overlooked by both critics and readers.”―Orbit: A Journal of American Literature

“With learning, imagination, and an attractive prose style, Henry Veggian opens an informative and accessible path into the world of Don DeLillo. Veggian’s alert intelligence meets the challenge posed by DeLillo’s important, fascinating, but difficult books. A major novelist calls forth a strong performance by a new critical voice.” ―Jonathan Arac, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of English, University of Pittsburgh

“Henry Veggian’s study merits a place on every shelf devoted to first-rate literary criticism. A remarkable combination of succinctness and depth, it accounts comprehensively for the DeLillo chapter in the larger book of American literature. Veggian offers perspicacious readings of individual fictions without losing sight of the bigger picture: the shape of a literary career of immense importance to contemporary letters.”―David Cowart, Louise Fry Scudder Professor of Humanities, University of South Carolina

“This is a terrific introduction to DeLillo’s fiction.”―Choice

“Deftly, confidently, Henry Veggian offers a highly readable theoretical and thematic narrative through the notoriously intimidating works of America’s finest novelist of the fin-de-millennium. Informed by but not compelled by the critical commentary already on DeLillo, Veggian offers an engaging new way into DeLillo’s cultural vision and into the evolution of his formal experimentations , especially the dense texts of the post- 9-11 work and the short fiction. A significant introduction to DeLillo’s fiction.”―Joseph Dewey, Beyond Grief and Nothing: A Reading of Don DeLilllo

Assorted Works

On Barack Obama’s Literary Legacy: Readings of Dreams from my Father

“The editors argue that, while Dreams is an unconventional autobiography, it has lasting value as a piece of literature, and they ask for a recalibration of our understanding of Obama that asserts his place in the African American literary tradition. Despite drawing on a range of literary theories, the seven chapters that comprise the collection are remarkably cohesive, and especially in the ways they consider the memoir genre. —- Journal of American Studies 53 (2019)

On my essay in Pynchon’s California:

“Similarly, Henry Veggian takes an unconventional approach into Pynchon’s sites for resistance in “Profane Illuminations: Postmodernism, Realism, and the Holytail Marijuana Crop.” He begins with Salman Rushdie’s review of Vineland as a “major political novel” and investigates how, exactly that might be the case. He does this by tabling postmodern approaches in favor of utilizing Lukacs and French realists like Balzac as a point of comparison to Vineland . It is a surprising exploration that creates inroads into the economy of Vineland .” —- Sean Carswell, www.berfrois.com

On The Forgotten Italians:

“Si apprende da questo articolato volume come la folta collettività giuliana nel suo insieme e gli scrittori che ne sono sortiti hanno saputo sostenere per lungo tempo, nel Paese di arrivo, situazioni disagevoli e dure, convivendo con l’inevitabile, radicato rimpianto delle origini, ma convertendolo in una risorsa interiore, in un’intensa riserva intima che ha permesso loro di restare fedeli al proprio retaggio e di interagire lucidamente e positivamente con l’inedito contesto canadese, nonostante il tempo sempre più trascorso e l’incertezza umana di una futura memoria.” — Patrizia C. Hansen Critica Letteraria 186