David Mitchell's post-secular world : Buddhism, belief and the urgency of compassion / by Rose Harris-Birtill.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harris-Birtill, Rose, author.

Series:

New horizons in contemporary writing

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mitchell, David (David Stephen)--Criticism and interpretation.

Mitchell, David.

Mitchell, David (David Stephen)--Knowledge and learning--Buddhism.

Mitchell, David (David Stephen).

Buddhism.

Mitchell, David (David Stephen)--Interviews.

Criticism and interpretation.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Interviews.

Physical Description:

xiv, 240 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York, NY : Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2019.

Summary:

"Since the publication of Ghostwritten (1999), David Mitchell has rapidly established himself as one of the most inventive and important British novelists of the 21st century. In this landmark study, Rose Harris-Birtill reveals the extent to which Mitchell has created an interconnected fictional world across the full run of his writing. Covering Mitchell's complete fictions, from bestselling novels such as Cloud Atlas (2004), The Bone Clocks (2014) and number9dream (2001), to his short stories and his libretti for the operas Sunken Garden and Wake, this book examines how Buddhist influences inform the ethical worldview that permeates his writing. Using a comparative theoretical model drawn from the Tibetan mandala to map Mitchell's fictional world, Harris-Birtill positions Mitchell as central to a new generation of post-secular writers who re-examine the vital role of belief in galvanizing action amidst contemporary ecological, political and humanitarian crises. David Mitchell's Post-Secular World features two substantial new interviews with the author, a chronology of his fictions and a selected bibliography of important critical writings on his work"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

David Mitchell's fictional world: a chronology

Introducing David Mitchell's fictional world

Enter the "World-machine": navigating David Mitchell's narrative islands

"Right yourself as best you may": voicing tragedy in David Mitchell's libretti

"Looking down time's telescope at myself": reincarnation and global futures in David Mitchell's fictional worlds

"What a sick zoo": escaping the Panopticon in David Mitchell's macronovel

"Little things that speak of the big things": towards a mandalic literature

Appendix A: David Mitchell's UK book sales

Appendix B: Tibetan Buddhist mandala sand painting

Appendix C: Enlarged mandala

Appendix D: Sand mandala construction

Appendix E: Wake act 2 photograph

Appendix F: Wheel of life mandala

Appendix G: An interview with David Mitchell, 2015

Appendix H: an interview with David Mitchell, 2016

David Mitchell: selected critical reading.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Harris-Birtill, Rose. David Mitchell's post-secular world.

ISBN:

9781350078598

135007859X

OCLC:

1039324337