American fiction in transition : observer-hero narrative, the 1990s, and postmodernism / Adam Kelly.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kelly, Adam, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Auster, Paul, 1947- Leviathan.

Auster, Paul.

Doctorow, E. L., 1931- Waterworks.

Doctorow, E. L.

Eugenides, Jeffrey. Virgin suicides.

Eugenides, Jeffrey.

Roth, Philip. Human stain.

Roth, Philip.

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

American fiction.

Narration (Rhetoric)--History--20th century.

Narration (Rhetoric).

Point of view (Literature).

Postmodernism (Literature)--United States.

Postmodernism (Literature).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (161 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York ; London : Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Pub. Plc, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"American Fiction in Transition is a study of the observer-hero narrative, a highly significant but critically neglected genre of the American novel. Through the lens of this transitional genre, the book explores the 1990s in relation to debates about the end of postmodernism, and connects the decade to other transitional periods in US literature. Novels by four major contemporary writers are examined: Philip Roth, Paul Auster, E. L. Doctorow and Jeffrey Eugenides. Each novel has a similar structure: an observer-narrator tells the story of an important person in his life who has died. But each story is equally about the struggle to tell the story, to find adequate means to narrate the transitional quality of the hero's life. In playing out this narrative struggle, each novel thereby addresses the broader problem of historical transition, a problem that marks the legacy of the postmodern era in American literature and culture."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Contents:

1. The 1990s, the Postmodern Subject, and the Problem of Agency

2. Observer-Hero Narrative and American Literary History

3. Tragedy, Secrecy, Narration: Philip Roth's The Human Stain

4. Action and Testimony: Paul Auster's Leviathan

5. Narcissism and Explanation: Jeffrey Eugenides's The Virgin Suicides

6. Ethics and Justification: E. L. Doctorow's The Waterworks

7. Conclusion: Agency, the Reader, and the Post-Postmodern

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781441135933

1441135936

9781472543394

1472543394

9781441173744

1441173749

OCLC:

852757960