Brian W Shaffer

Broschiertes Buch

Reading the Novel in English 1950 - 2000

Beschreibung

"This is an excellent introductory study. The selection of texts is intriguing. The volume is well-informed by criticism of the field and Shaffer's close reading is exemplary. His interpretations cast fresh light on some novels that have become canonical and therefore this study is of great use to students generally and for those teaching them." Philip Tew, University College Northampton; Director, UK Network for Modern Fiction Studies Written in clear, jargon-free prose, this introductory text charts the variety of English-language novel writing in the second half of the twentieth century. It focuses equally on British and Irish novelists, and on Anglophone novelists from other countries (exclusive of the US). The text provides students both with strategies for interpretation and with fresh readings of ten influential novels. It maps out the most important contexts and concepts for understanding the fiction of the period, considering subjects such as the aftermath of literary modernism and the end of the British Empire. Novels discussed in depth include Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Kazuo Ishiguro's Remains of the Day, and Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. The author treats the English-language novel of this period as a socially-engaged and exploratory genre, one that challenges and stretches the prevailing canons of knowledge and literary representation in its bid to depict and probe an evolving present.

Autor

Brian W. Shaffer is Professor of English and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for Faculty Development at Rhodes College, Memphis. He is the author of The Blinding Torch: Modern British Fiction and the Discourse of Civilization (1993) and Understanding Kazuo Ishiguro (1998). He is also the co-editor with Hunt Hawkins of Approaches to Teaching Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" and "The Secret Sharer" (2002) and the editor of A Companion to the British and Irish Novel 1945-2000 (Blackwell, 2005).

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Wiley
• Seitenzahl: 288
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. September 2005
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 230mm x 160mm x 21mm
• Gewicht: 358g
• ISBN-13: 9781405101141
• ISBN-10: 1405101148
• Artikelnr.: 22446160

Rezensionen

"Shaffer provides an informative and contextualizingintroduction that deals with issues of form and the shift from the'English novel' to the 'novel in English'that was an important change in English literary studies over theperiod covered. The book is written in an accessible style thatreflects its status as an introduction to the fiction of theperiod. The novels are well chosen, take an international focus,and provide a representative snapshot of fiction in English overthe period ... .There is a sensitive reading of each novel thattakes into account the historical and cultural contexts informingthem. Taken all in all, the book is a good introduction to theperiod and thus achieves what it sets out to do." (Year'sWork in English Studies,

2008)

"This is a main theme to a comprehensive study of tennovels: Kingsley Amis's Luck Jim; William Golding'sLord of the Flies; Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart; MurielSpark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie; Jean Rhys's WideSargasso Sea; J.M. Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians;Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale; KazuoIshiguro's The Remains of the Day; Patrick McCabe's TheButcher Boy; and Graham Smith's Last Orders...[Readingthe Novel in English 1950-2000] is an asset to anyone whoteaches any of these novels." (English Literature inTransition 1880 - 1920)"This is an excellent introductory study, consisting of aseries of essays concerning various important Anglophone novelsfrom the period of the post-war to the present day. The selectionof texts is intriguing. The volume is well-informed by criticism ofthe field and Shaffer's close reading is exemplary. Hisinterpretations cast fresh light on some novels that have becomecanonical and therefore this study is of great use to studentsgenerally and for those teaching them."
-Philip Tew, University College Northampton; Director, UKNetwork for Modern Fiction Studies