textbook

Contemporary American Fiction David Brauner

April 2010 Pb 978 0 7486 2268 9 £15.99

224pp 216 x 138 mm Hb 978 0 7486 2267 2 £50.00

An introduction to critical and theoretical approaches to contemporary American fiction

Description The Author This study of contemporary American fiction discusses work by critically acclaimed David Brauner is Director of American and internationally influential authors such as Don DeLillo, Philip Roth, Carol Studies at the University of Reading. Shields, Cormac McCarthy, Annie Proulx and Paul Auster, and situates them in a Author of Post-War Jewish Fiction: range of literary-historical contexts. Ambivalence, Self-Explanation, Transatlantic Connections (Palgrave/ The book identifies key trends in American fiction and analyses the main Macmillan, 2001) and Philip Roth and developments in critical thinking over the last twenty years. It is divided into four the Contemporary American Novel chapters, each of which focuses on detailed readings of three novels. It places these (Manchester University Press, 2006). in the context of debates about postmodernism and realism; gender and sexuality; race, ethnicity and multiculturalism; and narrative and genre. The objective of each Series chapter is to explore the ways in which texts such as White Noise, American Psycho, The Stone Diaries and Cold Mountain can be read in the light of current critical Edinburgh Critical Guides to Literature approaches, and can in turn shed light on these approaches. There is a strong emphasis throughout on intertextuality, exploring connections between primary Readership texts, and between the discourses of critical and creative writing. The conclusion sketches out possible future pathways for navigating the complex terrain of Contemporary American fiction is contemporary American fiction. a compulsory element in several American Studies courses at English universities and an increasingly Key Features popular option for second- and third- • Identifies the main trends in contemporary American fiction and situates them year undergraduates taking English in historical and cultural context degrees at universities in the UK or • Discusses a representative range of recent fiction from influential authors majoring in English at universities in • Introduces students to a variety of critical and theoretical approaches to writing the US. about contemporary American fiction

Literary Studies

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