The American Novel Now: Reading Contemporary American Fiction Since 1980 - Softcover

O'Donnell, Patrick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1405167556 ISBN 13: 9781405167550

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010

Synopsis

The American Novel Now navigates the vast terrain of the American novel since 1980, exploring issues of identity, history, family, nation, and aesthetics, as well as cultural movements and narrative strategies from over seventy different authors and novels.

• Discusses an exceptionally wide-range of authors and novels, from established figures to significant emerging writers
• Toni Morrison, Thomas Pynchon, Louise Erdrich, Don DeLillo, Richard Powers, Kathy Acker and many more
• Explores the range of themes and styles offered in the wealth of contemporary American fiction since 1980, in both mainstream and experimental writings
• Reflects the liveliness and diversity of American fiction in the last thirty years
• Written in a style that makes it ideal for students and scholars, while also accessible for general readers

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Contemporary American fiction since 1980 is known for its remarkable liveliness, diversity, and rigor. The American Novel Now navigates this exciting and vast terrain, offering a symptomatic reading of contemporary American fiction that considers both mainstream and experimental writing from over seventy different authors and novels. Featured authors include Toni Morrison, Thomas Pynchon, Louise Erdrich, Don DeLillo, Richard Powers, Kathy Acker, and many more.

Written in a lively and accessible style, the book explores a wide range of themes offered in the wealth of contemporary American fiction, including identity, history, family, nation, and aesthetics, as well as cultural movements, styles, and narrative strategies. The American Novel Now provides an excellent guide for those who wish to be introduced to the contexts, vitality, and diversity of the contemporary American novel over the last thirty years.

About the Author:

Patrick O'Donnell is Professor of English and American Literature at Michigan State University, where he served as department chair from 1997 to 2007. He has written and edited a number of books and collections on contemporary American fiction and film, including Latent Destinies: Cultural Paranoia in Contemporary U.S. Fiction (2000), Echo Chambers: Figuring Voice in Modern Narrative (1992), Passionate Doubts: Designs of Interpretation in Contemporary American Fiction (1986), and New Essays on The Crying of Lot 49 (edited, 1991). He is an associate editor of The Columbia History of the American Novel (1991), a former editor of Modern Fiction Studies, and a co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century American Fiction (forthcoming from Wiley-Blackwell).

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1405167556
• ISBN 13: 9781405167550
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 248