Synopsis Here is a collection of seventeen essays on literary issues and texts written by Dr. P.K. Rajan as occasional pieces in the course of his academic career. A large number of authors and texts figure in these studies, which deal with issues in critical practice, make an assessment of certain Indian English writers, and attempt comparative evaluation of writers and works. The authors under scrutiny include T.S. Eliot, Georg Lukacs, George Orwell, Boris Pasternak, V.I. Lenin, Tolstoy, E.M. Forster, William Golding, V.S. Naipaul, Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao, O.V. Vijayan, Shashi Tharoor, Kumaran Asan, Chandu Menon, Vallathol. Thakazhi, Madhavi Kutty and T. Padmanabhan. Brilliantly argued and lucidly presented, these essays attempt an inquiry into the conflicts operating at various levels in literary texts and offer new insights into comparative evaluations in critical practice.