Bryant's book is a strong and significant argument for the centrality of humour in Melville's novels. The purpose of Melville and Repose is dual: to ground the uses of humour in Melville in sensitive readings of contemporaneous European and American writings, and to offer a definitive account of humour as the shaping force of Melville's narrative voice for the duration of his literary career. Bryant argues that Melville fused a "rhetoric of geniality" adopted from the British with a "rhetoric of deceit" borrowed from the American tall tale in order to create his own amiably cosmopolitan "rhetoric of aesthetic repose." Thorough research, an engaging style, and full, scholarly readings of the oeuvre combine to make this book a welcome addition to the libraries of Melville scholars and enthusiasts.
