Reading the 21st century : books of the decade, 2000-2009 / Stan Persky.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Persky, Stan.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Best books.

Books--Reviews.

Books.

Literature, Modern--21st century--History and criticism.

Literature, Modern.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (297 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Ithaca [N.Y.] : McGill-Queen's University Press, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"The first decade of the twenty-first century was noteworthy for war, terror, religious revival, economic collapse, and a technological revolution that prompted countless critical responses and gave rise to a paradox: writing flourished, but reading declined. Reading the 21st Century investigates the urgent themes, major works, and crisis of reading in an era of instant communication. In wide-ranging and innovative criticism, Stan Persky examines international non-fiction and fiction to engage with both the triumphs and tensions of reading and writing today. Evaluating works by established authors Philip Roth, Orhan Pamuk, J.M. Coetzee, and Joseþ Saramago, as well as emerging writers like Naomi Klein, Javier Cercas, and Chimamanda Adichie, Persky also showcases a remarkable group of reporters - Steve Coll, Dexter Filkins, and Rajiv Chandrasekaran - who have written essential books about global issues. An illuminating and accessible work about the present age, Reading the 21st Century introduces new ways of thinking about the world's most significant cultural, political, and moral problems. " --Publisher's website.

Contents:

Introduction: In the twilight of literary criticism

The storyteller : Larry McMurtry

Indelible : Philip Roth's human stain

Heroes : Javier Cercas's soldiers of Salamis

Ignorance in the desert

The snowflake from the snow : Orhan Pamuk

In the land of Amos Oz : a tale of love and darkness

Homeland alone : 9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq

Lost and found : Daniel Mendelsohn

Walking, seeing, shelving

The Gods that failed : Richard Dawkins

Exit strategies : Said, Coetzee, Saramago, Roth

Other voices, other realms

Haunted by a spectre : Krugman, Klein, Stiglitz

Conclusion: Code red

Appendix: Some prize lists.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780773586413

0773586415

9780773586079

0773586075

OCLC:

806255275