Novels of the Contemporary Extreme

by Alain-Philippe Durand (Editor), Naomi Mandel (Editor)

Overview

This book investigates a new form of fiction that is currently emerging in contemporary literature across the globe. 'Novels of the contemporary extreme' - from North and South America, from Europe, and the Middle East - are set in a world both similar to and different from our own: a hyper real, often apocalyptic world progressively invaded by popular culture, permeated with technology and dominated by destruction. While their writing is commonly classified as 'hip' or 'underground' literature, authors of contemporary extreme novels have often been the center of public controversy and scandal; they, and their work, become international bestsellers. This collection of essays identifies and describes this international phenomenon, investigating the appeal of these novels' styles and themes, the reasons behind their success, and the fierce debates they provoked.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781847062642
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/01/2008
Series:	Continuum Literary Studies
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Alain-Philippe Durand Professor of French and Director of the School of International Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (SILLC) at the University of Arizona, USA and Visiting Professor at the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Florianopolis, Brazil.

Naomi Mandel is Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Rhode Island, USA.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Contributors Introduction; Alian-Philippe Durand and Naomi Mandel Part I: Americas 1. 'Right Here in Nowheres': American Psycho and Violence's Critique; Naomi Mandel 2. Telling doubles and Literal Minded Reading in Bret Easton Ellis' Glamorama; Henrik Skov Nielsen 3. Posthumous Voice and Residual Presence in Don DeLillo's The Body Artist; Mikko Keskinen 4. A Post-Apocalyptic World: The Excremental, Abject Female Warriors of Josée Yvon; Paula Ruth Gilbert with Colleen Lester 5. On the Impossibility of Being Contemporary in Nelly Arcan's Folle; Martine Delvaux 6. Media-Portrayed Violence in Alberto Fuguet's Tinta roja; Jason G. Summers Part II: Europe and the Middle East7. Sadomasochism, Castration and Rape: Richard Morgiève's Nightmare Theater of Primal Scenes; Ralph Schoolcraft 8. Dantec's Inferno; Lawrence R. Schehr 9. Apocalypse Now: Fins de siècles in the French Novel; Sabine van Wesemael 10. Beyond The Extreme: Frédéric Beigbeder's Windows on the World; Alain-Philippe Durand 11. Amélie Nothomb's Dialectic of the Sublime and the Grotesque; Martine Guyot-Bender 12. Violence Biting Its Own Tail: Martin Amis's Yellow Dog; Jean-Michel Ganteau 13. Beauty and Death as Simulacra in Ray Loriga's Caídos del cielo and El hombre que inventó Manhattan; Kathryn Everly 14. Sex, Drugs, and Violence in Lucía Etxebarria's Amor, curiosidad, prozac y dudas; Catherine Bourland Ross 15- On Human Parts: Orly Castel-Bloom and the Israeli Extreme; Adia Mendelson-Maoz Bibliography Index

Editorial Reviews

"Durand and Mandel (both, Univ of Rhode Island) collect critical essays that analyze a particular kind of contemporary novel, "novels that do not merely reflect on violence [but] seek it out, engage it, and in a variety of imaginative ways, perform it." These essays provide a better understanding of the literary positioning and psychological framework of the contemporary extreme novel, both inside and outside the US." Summing up: Recommended- "CHOICE February 2007"

Mention in College Literature, Vol. 36.2, Spring 2009

From the Publisher