| Description |
1 online resource (x, 147 pages) |
| Contents |
Tragedy and secrecy: Philip Roth's The human stain -- Testimony and truth: Paul Auster's Leviathan -- Narcissism and explanation: Jeffrey Eugenides's The virgin suicides -- History, time and justice: E.L. Doctorow's The waterworks |
| 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"--Provided by publisher |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 133-141) and index |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Subject |
Roth, Philip. Human stain.
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Auster, Paul, 1947-2024. Leviathan
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Eugenides, Jeffrey. Virgin suicides.
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Doctorow, E. L., 1931-2015. Waterworks
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| SUBJECT |
Human stain (Roth, Philip) fast |
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Leviathan (Auster, Paul) fast |
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Virgin suicides (Eugenides, Jeffrey) fast |
| Subject |
American fiction -- 20th century -- History and criticism
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Narration (Rhetoric) -- History -- 20th century
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Point of view (Literature)
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Postmodernism (Literature) -- United States
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LITERARY CRITICISM -- American -- General.
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American fiction
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Narration (Rhetoric)
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Point of view (Literature)
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Postmodernism (Literature)
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United States
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| Genre/Form |
Criticism, interpretation, etc.
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History
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| ISBN |
9781441173744 |
|
1441173749 |
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9781441135933 |
|
1441135936 |
|
9781472543394 |
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1472543394 |
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