«Elias’s study of the fragment is based on what is perhaps an inescapable paradox. She brings out with great care the nature of the fragment as something dynamic, shifting, subversive—a relation or a force, rather than a thing to be categorized. And yet, her book is structured around a complex categorization of the fragment, into 10 types...» (SOPHIE THOMAS, University of Sussex, in Hyperion: On the Future of Aesthetics, June 2008)

«One of the most remarkable accomplishments, though a somehow paradoxical and (self-)ironical one, of Camelia Elias in The Fragment: Towards a History and Poetics of a Performative Genre is that in this book she manages to talk about the topic of the fragment in the most comprehensive, systematic and non-fragmentary manner: she almost “exhausts” the topic, covers everything, every aspect of it, nothing is left untouched, no fragments of the fragment, so to speak, are left aside. And in this process of exhaustion a whole range of methodological approaches and interdisciplinary perspectives are employed: the fragment is being treated from the complementary angles of literary history and criticism, history of ideas, history of philosophy, critical theory, art history, philology and theology. Yet, I should add, even this paradox itself is not an accident: the fragment always attracts paradoxes. In an essential way, the fragment has a problematic nature, an ever-fleeing and "untamable" character. [...] As if secretly contaminated from its subject-matter, Camelia Elias’ book displays throughout a superior playfulness and a wonderful sense of humor. [...] This playfulness, the deep sense of irony and self-irony that pervades the book, the fine praise to imagination and unfettered creativity that one comes across again and again throughout it, are in fact what gives this book a sense of superior scholarly accomplishment: it proves that one can write systematically and comprehensively about the fragment without at the same time betraying the free and playful spirit of the genre of the fragment.» (COSTICA BRADATAN, Janus Head, 9.1, 2006) Read the whole review here

«Camelia Elias's rich monograph not only offers a thought-provoking exploration of the fragment, but also a valid 'tool kit' for all those interested in experimental forms of writing, be it at the level of theory or praxis.» (FRANCA BELLARSI, Belgian Journal of English Language and Literatures, New Series 3, 2005)

«This study, with its detailed exposition, its account of the treatment the fragment receives, over the centuries, according to each period and culture, together with a wealth of links to different fields and a consideration of critical approaches will indeed prove to be not only an essential read, but also a very inspiring one.» (ANA RAQUEL FERNANDES, Dedalus, 2005)

«In this complex analysis of the genre of the fragment, Camelia Elias shows us that while there is no such thing as a fragment in the singular, there are always already a plurality of fragments at work in the history and (divides) of literature, philosophy and theology. Although we can never, not quite, be sure of what a fragment is... we must nonetheless "assign the fragment a status of which one can never be sure". I like this uncertainty...» (GRAY KOCHHAR-LINDGREN, SubStance 110, 2006). Read the whole review here or get access to SubStance 110 through your library subscription.

If you can read Bulgarian, here's another nice one too.