For six decades, writer and editor Robert A. Parker has followed up each book he reads, mainly novels, with an evaluation of that book. His comments are informed by his Jesuit upbringing but also by an independent critical view that balances a moral and literary sensibility.

In this first of six volumes, the authors covered range from Kobo Abe to Michael Cunningham. They include Austen, Banks, Bernanos, Brink, Camus, Carroll, Cather, Coetzee, Colette, Conrad, and Cozzens, as well as a few mystery authors and historians, ranging from Raymond Chandler to Whittaker Chambers.

The commentaries are listed alphabetically by author, and the books by the date of publication for each author. There are at least 120 authors included in this volume, some represented by one book, some by five or more. Future volumes will cover additional authors alphabetically.

The writers here represent a broad range of writing styles, cultural influences, and moral philosophies. And all are rated on their literary achievementó the effectiveness of plot, character, and settingóplus their recognition of the moral, ethical, and spiritual values of mankind.

Here is a unique critical perspective that measures the meaning of literature against the meaning of life.