“The Sign of the Cannibal does achieve a clarity of vision and an economy of purpose. Students of Melville, cannibal and postcolonial studies, and those interested in concise and conscientious analyses of individual texts in their cultural contexts, will find The Sign of the Cannibal an engaging and energetic book, one that will surely stimulate debate and provide students of Melville with points of departure.” — Kenneth J. Speirs , American Studies International
“The Sign of the Cannibal leaves the reader convinced of the cultural importance and the importance to Melville, of the discourse of nineteenth-century cannibalism, and for this accomplishment it commands serious attention. . . . If the term ‘postcolonial’ signifies a combination of cultural, historical, and rhetorical stances such as those which Sanborn shows to converge brilliantly and touchingly in Melville’s traeatments of cannibalism, additional such postcolonial analysis will be more than welcome.” — Bryan C. Short , Studies in the Novel
“[A] compelling book, impressively reappraising Melville’s fiction in light of postcolonial theories, primarily Homi Bhabha’s reflections on mimicry. . . . What makes Sanborn’s book both exciting and insightful is his facility with the literary, historical, and theoretical levels of his argument.” — Kendall A. Johnson , American Literature
“[E]nlightening. The Sign of the Cannibal is a major contribution to Melville studies, ‘cannibal studies,’ and postcolonial theory.” — Jerry Phillips , Journal of American Studies
“Sanborn’s well-written and thoroughly researched book provides an interesting addition to postcolonial discourse, a valuable outline of cannibal studies and a new approach to Melville’s discussion of savagery. These features make it a significant and valuable addition to the three fields it intersects.” — Rebecca Weaver , Interventions
“Sanborn gives us a systematic, lucid, and thoroughly engaging analysis of the colonial response to cannibalism that illuminates the culture while shedding new light on Melville’s works from Typee to ‘Benito Cereno.’” — John Bryant, Hofstra University
“With a rare precision and insight, Sanborn offers a series of intricate, resonant, and iconoclastic readings of Melville’s texts. The Sign of the Cannibal is incisive, illuminating, and beautifully written.” — Samuel Otter, University of California at Berkeley