Cronin (English, Brigham Young U.) brings a feminist perspective to the Nobel Laureate's novels, which are largely peopled by male intellectuals playing out Bellow's conception of American masculinity. Drawing on French feminist theory of western male philosophers as well as other traditions, she contends that his protagonists search for and destroy a lost feminine essence that they yearn for, and thereby create their own prisons. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)