SOURCE: A review of Dead Languages, in Boston Review, Vol. 14, No. 4, August, 1989, p. 26.

Kennedy, also known as Pamela Kennedy, is an American writer, critic, and host of a Boston-based cable TV show. In the following review, she favorably assesses the literary style, themes, and autobiographical elements of Dead Languages.

There's an old fiction workshop maxim: Never write about writing. But, in Dead Languages, David Shields has done just that. Not only is every major character a writer, the narrator is a stutterer who's obsessed with language. It's a risky premise and, in less capable hands, this novel might die of self-consciousness.

In fact, Shields is at his best when writing about writing. He dazzles us with literary fireworks—plot twists, complicated puns that sum up a situation, and hairpin turns of phrase. Perhaps the most striking example is the novel's climax, a cliff-hanger in which the main character...