Aggressive fictions : reading the contemporary American novel / Kathryn Hume.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hume, Kathryn, 1945-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aggressiveness in literature.

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

American fiction.

American fiction--21st century--History and criticism.

Aversion in literature.

Physical Description:

xiii, 200 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2012.

Summary:

In this work for general readers and students, Hume (English, The Pennsylvania State U.) provides tactics for reading and understanding about 40 'reader unfriendly' American novels. She defines 'aggressive fictions' as those that generally attack readers' values and literary expectations through their use of disgusting or upsetting content and their refusal to adhere to or use traditional plot patterns and character development. She examines novels by authors including Ishmael Reed, Kathy Acker, Katharine Dunn, Chuck Palahniuk, and William Burroughs. Some titles analyzed include Microserfs, Portnoy's Complaint, The Color Purple, My Year of Meats, and Blood Meridian. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

The author-reader contract

The narrative speed in contemporary fiction

Modalities of complaint

Conjugations of the grotesque

Violence

Attacking the reader's ontological assumptions

Why read aggressive fictions?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780801450013

0801450012

OCLC:

727704084