1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910791533503321

Autore

Brauner David <1968->

Titolo

Contemporary American fiction [[electronic resource] /] / David Brauner

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Edinburgh, : Edinburgh University Press, c2010

ISBN

1-78034-321-3

0-7486-2981-5

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (255 p.)

Collana

Edinburgh critical guides to literature

Disciplina

813.5409

Soggetti

American fiction - 20th century - History and criticism

American fiction - 21st century - History and criticism

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

""Cover""; ""Copyright""; ""Contents""; ""Series Preface""; ""Acknowledgements""; ""Chronology""; ""Introduction""; ""Chapter 1 The space reserved for irony: Irony and Paradox in Don DeLillo's White Noise, Paul Auster's City of Glass and Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho""; ""Chapter 2 Silence, Secrecy and Sexuality: Alternate Histories in Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres, Carol Shields The Stone Diaries and Jeffrey Eugenides Middlesex""

""Chapter 3 Nes and Yo: Race, Ethnicity and Hybridity in Gish Jen's Mona in the Promised Land, Philip Roth's The Human Stain and Richard Powers The Time of Our Singing""""Chapter 4 Contemporary American Fiction Goes to Hollywood: Genre in the Texts and Films of Cold Mountain, Brokeback Mountain and No Country for Old Men""; ""Conclusion""; ""Student Resources""; ""Index""

Sommario/riassunto

This is an accessible, lucid and incisive study that will prove indispensable to students and scholars of contemporary American fiction. Featuring a wide range of authors - from canonical figures such as Philip Roth, Don DeLillo and Annie Proulx, to increasingly influential writers such as Jeffrey Eugenides, Gish Jen and Richard Powers - the book combines detailed readings of key texts with informative discussions of their historical, social and cultural contexts. There are chapters focusing on formal characteristics (the use of irony and paradox in novels by Don DeLillo, Paul Auster and Bret Easton Ellis, and



the generic properties of the texts and films of Cold Mountain, Brokeback Mountain and No Country for Old Men) and on thematic concerns (the representation of gender and sexuality in novels by Jane Smiley, Carol Shields and Jeffrey Eugenides, and of ethnicity, race and hybridity in fiction by Gish Jen, Philip Roth and Richard Powers). Running through all these chapters is an interrogation of all three elements making up the phrase 'contemporary American fiction'.Key Features Identifies some of the main trends in contemporary American fiction and situates them in historical and cultural contexts Discusses a representative range of recent fiction, providing a sense of the rich diversity of the field and of its key themes and modes of writing Introduces students to a variety of critical approaches to, and debates concerning, contemporary American fiction Encourages reflection on the nature of national, gender, ethnic and generic identities