Reaganism, Thatcherism and the social novel / Colin Hutchinson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hutchinson, Colin, 1958-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Reagan, Ronald.

Thatcher, Margaret.

English fiction--20th century--History and criticism.

English fiction.

Political fiction, English--History and criticism.

Political fiction, English.

American fiction--20th century--History and criticism.

American fiction.

Political fiction, American--History and criticism.

Political fiction, American.

Social problems in literature.

Right and left (Political science) in literature.

Thatcher, Margaret--Influence.

Reagan, Ronald--Influence.

Politics and literature--Great Britain--History--20th century.

Politics and literature.

Great Britain.

History.

Politics and literature--United States--History--20th century.

United States.

Physical Description:

ix, 207 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Summary:

Reagan and Thatcher changed everything - even fiction, which is often seen as a bastion of left-liberal thought. This insightful book examines the work of both British and American authors over the past 25 years in order to assess the state of both nations - and their novels - in the context of a triumphant market economy. By looking at writers as diverse as Thomas Pynchon and Martin Amis, Jonathan Franzen and Irvine Welsh, Iain Banks and Douglas Coupland, it scrutinizes the position of the white male protagonist who feels besieged by both sides of the 'culture wars'. Themes of defeat, decline, and destruction abound, with the search for redemption hempered by the suspicion that the idea of personal liberation is now the property of consumerism, while the communitarian ethos carries too much conservative baggage. The author concludes that consensus, rather than rebellion, is what shapes the form and content of the social novel in our time.

Contents:

1 Reagan, Thatcher and the 1980s 15

2 Complicity and British Fiction 38

3 Liberal Guilt and American Fiction 65

4 The Communitarian Turn 90

5 Futures and Pasts 112

6 The Battlefield of the Self 136.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 195-201) and index.

ISBN:

9780230210455

0230210457

OCLC:

223107577