Customer Reviews

The Devil Gets His Due: The Uncollected Essays of Leslie Fiedler

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I am a Brazilian university teacher and I have fairly recently come across Leslie Fiedler and his work, through a reference made by Camille Paglia in her interview in Salon (April 15, 1997). I ordered The Devil Gets his Due from Amazon and I felt so much in love with Fiedler's writings and his ideas that I imported almost all of his books (also via Amazon). In The Devil Gets His Due Fiedler unfolds with wit, knowledge and clarity a piece of cultural history that everyone can relate to. His writings helped me to see and understand myself as someone belonging very crucially to the 20th century in all its richness and overlaping of influences. For me it was a revelation and Professor Samuele Pardini - who did a wonderful job in putting together The Devil Gets His Due - wrote and introduction to the book that is informed, provocative and enlightening. Professor Pardini is perfectly right: what we need right now is Fiedler. In such intellectually discouraging times and among a lack of intelligent and vigorous criticism Fiedler is a tonic. I felt invigorated after reading his work. I wish people would get him Fiedler his due and we could start re-thinking all that he said and what he meant for the culture, for the arts, for education.

This collection of Fiedler's work has had my head spinning since it arrived a few days ago - perhaps due in part to the fact that I raced through it, (by choice I might add), but more so because of a unique depth that is often lacking in literary and even social or cultural criticism. The essays are, as my title suggests, deeply funny, angering even, while charged with a certain urgency I find fresh and inspiring. Samuele Pardini's introduction creates an a textual atmosphere of candidness and openness; it's moving and articulates very well the way in which looking back to Fiedler can certainly revitalize studies in the Humanities.