A Critical Companion to Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere"

by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock

Overview

Fantasy author Neil Gaiman’s 1996 novel Neverwhere is not just a marvelous self-contained novel, but a terrifically useful text for introducing students to fantasy as a genre and issues of adaptation. Jeffrey Andrew Weinsk’s briskly written A Critical Companion to Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere offers an introduction to the work; situates it in relation to the fantasy genre, with attention in particular to the Hero’s Journey, urban fantasy, word play, social critique, and contemporary fantasy trends; and explores it as a case study in transmedial adaptation. The study ends with an interview with Neil Gaiman that addresses the novel and a bibliography of scholarly works on Gaiman.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030964573
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	06/01/2022
Series:	Palgrave Science Fiction and Fantasy: A New Canon
Edition description:	1st ed. 2022
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jeffrey Andrew Weinsk is Professor of English at Central Michigan University, USA, and an Associate Editor for The Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts. He is the author or editor of 26 books and almost 100 essays and book chapters on fantasy, horror, science fiction, and American literature and culture. Visit him at JeffreyAndrewWeinsk.com.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: It Starts With Doors.- 2. Bridges to Fantasy: Neverwhere and Genre.- 3. “Mind the Gap”: Neverwhere, Language and Intertextuality.- 4. “Falling Through the Cracks”: Neverwhere as Social Commentary.- 5. Fidelity and Innovation: Adaptation, Transmediality, and the Neverwhere Megatext.- 6. The Key.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Noted Gothic scholar Jeffrey Andrew Weinsk takes us on a tour of Neil Gaiman’s urban fantasy Neverwhere, bringing his characteristic wit and insight to the shifting spaces and emblematic characters of Gaiman’s underground London.” (Brian Attebery, Professor of English, Idaho State University, USA)

“Jeffrey Andrew Weinsk's A Critical Companion to Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere is an invaluable resource for both first-time and returning readers of this seminal work of fantasy. Weinsk maps key modes through which to read the novel and its reverberating iterations across media, while also showing how Gaiman's touchstone work operates as a critical introduction to the fantasy genre. This is a smart, fresh, and thorough study of Neverwhere, which also inspires a host of new and exciting approaches for future exploration. It is a companion that will no doubt be immediately crucial to the teaching and study of Gaiman and to Neverwhere's immense cultural influence.” (Alison Sperling, IPODI Fellow, Technical University Berlin, Germany)