The poetics of genre in the contemporary novel / edited by Tim Lanzendörfer.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Lanzendörfer, Tim, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fiction genres.

Literary form.

Physical Description:

viii, 292 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, Maryland : Lexington Books, [2016]

Summary:

The Poetics of Genre in the Contemporary Novel investigates the role of genre in the contemporary novel: taking its departure from the observation that numerous contemporary novelists make use of popular genre influences in what are still widely considered to be literary novels, it sketches the uses, the work, and the value of genre. It suggests the importance of a critical look at texts' genre use for an analysis of the contemporary moment. From this, it develops a broader perspective, arguing the need for genre criticism that takes into view traditional genres such as the bildungsroman and the metafictional novel, as well as the kinds of amalgamated forms which have recently come to prominence. In chapters discussing a wide range of authors from Steven Hall to Bret Easton Ellis to Colson Whitehead, the contributors of this volume develop their own readings of genre's work and valence in the contemporary novel. Book jacket.

Contents:

I Genre at the End of Postmodernism

1 Aliens in America: Toni Morrison, Steven Spielberg, and the Ends of Postmodernism / Philipp Löffler Löffler, Philipp 17

2 The Digital Intensification of Postmodern Poetics / Lai-Tze Fan Fan, Lai-Tze 35

3 The Black Box of Genre in Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist and Charles Yu's How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe / Stephen Hock Hock, Stephen 57

4 Self-Parody and the Aesthetics of Literary Transgression in John Hawkes's An Irish Eye and Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice / Salwa Karoid-Elounelli Karoid-Elounelli, Salwa 73

5 Sincerity, Sharing, and Authorial Discourses on the Fiction/Nonfiction Distinction: The Case of Dave Eggers's You Shall Know Our Velocity / Virginia Pignagnoli Pignagnoli, Virginia 97

II Between High and Low, Literary and Popular

6 Techno-Anxiety as New Middlebrow: Science-Fictionalizing in the Fictional Mainstream of the Early Twenty-First Century / Roger Bellin Bellin, Roger 115

7 Post-Apocalypse Now: Cormac McCarthy's The Road as Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction / Yonatan Englender Englender, Yonatan, Elana Gomel Gomel, Elana 127

8 Ghostly Presences: Nostalgia, the Literary Market, and the Cultural Work of Genre in Stephen King's Joyland / Clemens Spahr Spahr, Clemens 145

9 Postmodern Autonomy and the Poetics of Genre in Matt Ruffs Novels / Annette Schimmelpfennig Schimmelpfennig, Annette, Tim Lanzendörfer Lanzendörfer, Tim 161

10 Purposing the Familiar: Genre, Repetition, and Anxiety in Bret Easton Ellis's Lunar Park / Gavin F. Hurley Hurley, Gavin F. 181

III Revisiting Traditional Genre(s)

11 The Heirs of Don Quixote: Representations of the World-Shaping Powers of Genre in Contemporary Fiction / Martina Allen Allen, Martina 201

12 Reimagining Genre in the Contemporary Immigrant Novel / Katie Daily-Bruckner Daily-Bruckner, Katie 219

13 Looking Beneath the Surface: Self and Genre in Joseph O'Neill's Netherland / Tim DeJong DeJong, Tim 237

14 Connecting Travel Writing, Bildungsroman, and Therapeutic Culture in Dave Eggers's Literature / Robert Mousseau Mousseau, Robert 255.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781498517287

1498517285

OCLC:

922697842