Search for critical analysis of novels, plays and poetry in the literary criticism database Gale Literature
Start with a: topic & work overview, biography, interviews, or reviews and news to get an overview of the author's style, ideas they explore, their critical reception, and the historical and biographical contexts informing their writing. Note that none of these are scholarly.
You can return to find scholarly literary criticism later.
The image below shows a search for information about "Two Kinds" by the author Amy Tan.
Type in author, title, and/or keyword. Note that it may work better to type the author's surname, then first name.
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Select Topic and Work Overviews, Biographies, Interviews, and other introductory works. In this case, I selected Topic & Work Overviews.
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This excerpt discusses Tan's use of memoir and memory to shift perspectives and draw the reader into the competing world views of mother and daughter.
Understanding the history of the era in which an author lived or in which a piece of literature was written will often give you better insight into that literature's meaning, symbolism, and themes.
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American Decades (2000s) by 
The reference series American History through Literature offers particularly insightful background articles that contextualize literature, history, ideas, and authors.
American History through Literature 1820-1870
American History through Literature 1870-1920