Description
Book SynopsisHow might our friendships shape our politics? This book examines how contemporary American fiction has rediscovered the concept of civic friendship and revived a long tradition of imagining male friendship as interlinked with the promises and paradoxes of democracy in the United States. Bringing into dialogue the work of a wide range of authors – including Philip Roth, Paul Auster, Michael Chabon, Jonathan Lethem, Dinaw Mengestu, and Teju Cole – this innovative study advances a compelling new account of the political and intellectual fabric of the American novel today.
Table of ContentsIntroduction
1 ‘The Love Alternative’: Philip Roth’s I Married a Communist (1998) and The Human Stain (2000)
2 The Gift of Friendship: Paul Auster’s Fiction and Film
3 Broken Utopias: Michael Chabon’s Telegraph Avenue (2012) and Jonathan Lethem’s The Fortress of Solitude (2003)
4 The Borders of Friendship: Dinaw Mengestu’s The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears (2007) and Teju Cole’s Open City (2011)
Conclusion
