Description
Book SynopsisThis critical guide introduces major novelists and themes in British fiction from 1975 to 2005. It engages with concepts such as postmodernism, feminism, gender and the postcolonial, and examines the place of fiction within broader debates in contemporary culture.A comprehensive Introduction provides a historical context for the study of contemporary British fiction by detailing significant social, political and cultural events. This is followed by five chapters organised around the core themes: (1) Narrative Forms, (2) Contemporary Ethnicities, (3) Gender and Sexuality, (4) History, Memory and Writing, and (5) Narratives of Cultural Space.
Table of ContentsSeries Preface; Acknowledgements; Chronology; Introduction: Historical and Theoretical Contexts 1979-2005; Chapter 1 Narrative Forms: Postmodernism and Realism; Martin Amis, London Fields (1989); Alasdair Gray, Poor Things (1992); Zadie Smith, White Teeth (2000); Chapter 2 Writing Contemporary Ethnicities; Salman Rushdie, Shame (1983); Courttia Newland, Soceity Within (1999); Monica Ali, Brick Lane (2003); Chapter 3 Gender and Sexuality; Angela Carter, The Passion of New Eve (1977); Jeanette Winterson, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985); Nick Hornby, Fever Pitch (1992); Chapter 4 History, Memory and Writing; Graham Swift, Waterland (1983); A. S. Byatt, Possession: A Romance (1990); Ian McEwan, Atonement (2001); Chapter 5 Narratives of Cultural Space; Hanif Kureishi, The Buddha of Suburbia (1990); Iain Sinclair, Downriver (1991); Julian Barnes, England, England (1998); Conclusion; Student Resources; Internet Resources; Questions for Discussion; Alternative Primary Texts; Glossary; Guide to Further Reading; Index.
