In Irish fiction, the most famous example of the embrace of damnation in order to gain freedom--politically, religiously, and creatively--is Joyce's Stephen Dedalus. His "non serviam," though, is not just the profound rebellion of one frustrated young man, but, as Brivic demonstrates in this sweeping account of twentieth-century Irish fiction, the emblematic and necessary standpoint for any artist wishing to envision something truly new. Revolutionary...