Contemporary fictions of attention : reading and distraction in the twenty-first century / Alice Bennett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bennett, Alice, 1982- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

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

American fiction.

Attention.

Books and reading--Psychological aspects.

Books and reading.

Distraction (Psychology).

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

English fiction.

Fiction--21st century--History and criticism.

Fiction.

Literature and technology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (182 pages)

Other Title:

Reading and distraction in the 21st century

Reading distraction in the twenty-first century

Place of Publication:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.

Summary:

"With the supposed shortening of our attention spans, what future is there for fiction in the age of the internet? Contemporary Fictions of Attention rejects this discourse of distraction-crisis which suggests that the future of reading is in peril, and instead finds that contemporary writers construct 'fictions of attention' that find some value in states or moments of inattention. Through discussion of work by a diverse selection of writers, including Joshua Cohen, Ben Lerner, Tom McCarthy, Ali Smith, Zadie Smith, and David Foster Wallace, this book identifies how fiction prompts readers to become peripherally aware of their own attention. Contemporary Fictions of Attention locates a common interest in attention within 21st-century fiction and connects this interest to a series of debates surrounding ethics, temporality, the everyday, boredom, work, and self-discipline in contemporary culture."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Contents:

Fictions of attention

'Focus, people!' (David Foster Wallace)

Present-mindedness (Joshua Cohen)

The distraction of both (Ali Smith)

Amputated attention (Tom McCarthy)

Beginning to mind (Zadie Smith)

Reading absorption (Ben Lerner).

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher.

ISBN:

9781474282604

1474282601

9781474282628

1474282628

9781474282635

1474282636

OCLC:

1090433744