Postmodernist Fiction [Paperback]

Brian McHale (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 1987 | ISBN-10: 0415045134 | ISBN-13: 978-0415045131 | Edition: New edition

Like it or not, the term `postmodernism' seems to have lodged itself in our critical and theoretical discourses. We have a postmodern architecture, a postmodern dance, perhaps even a postmodern philosophy and a postmodern condition. But do we have a postmodernist fiction? In this trenchant and lively study Brian McHale undertakes to construct a version of postmodernist fiction which encompasses forms as wide-ranging as North American metafiction, Latin American magic realism, the French New New Novel, concrete prose and science fiction. Considering a variety of theoretical approaches including those of Ingarden, Eco, Dolezel, Pavel, and Hrushovski, McHale shows that the common denominator is postmodernist fiction's ability to thrust its own ontological status into the foreground and to raise questions about the world (or worlds) in which we live. Far from being, as unsympathetic critics have sometimes complained, about nothing but itself -- or even about nothing at all -- postmodernist fiction in McHale's construction of it proves to be about (among other things) those hardy literary perennials, Love and Death. itself in our critical and theoretical discourses. We have a,--- postmodern architecture, a postmodern dance, perhaps even a postmodern philosophy and a postmodern condition. But do we have a postmodernist fiction? Brian McHale undertakes to construct a version capacious enough to include North American metafiction, Latin American magic realism, the French New New Novel, concrete prose and science fiction, to name but a few of its forms. The common denominator is postmodernist fiction's ability to thrust its own ontological status into the foreground and to raise questions about the world (or worlds) in which we live. Exploiting various theoretical approaches to literary ontology - those of Ingarden, Eco, Dolezel, Pavel, Hrushovski and others - and ranging widely over contemporary world literature, McHale assembles a comprehensive repertoire of postmodernist fiction's strategies of world-making and -unmaking. Far from being, as unsympathetic critics have sometimes complained, about nothing but itself or even about nothing at all, postmodernist fiction in McHale's construction of it proves to be about (among other things) those hardy literary perennials, Love and Death. "This is one of the most lively and lucid studies of contemporary fiction around. Whether or not you agree with his provocative definition of the postmodern, McHale's argument is always engaging, bold, and forceful." _ Linda Hutcheon

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This is one of the most lively and lucid studies of contemporary fiction around. Whether or not you agree with his provocative definition of the postmodern, McHale's argument is always engaging, bold and forceful' - Linda Hutcheon

`Not only does the critical jargon not get in the way of his thesis, but McHale even uses examples you've heard of ... A useful and comprehensive examination of the nature of The Beast.' - City Limits

`McHale ... has written a brilliant, forceful and lucid defence of his own view.' - John Fletcher, Journal of European Studies

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; New edition edition (August 12, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415045134
• ISBN-13: 978-0415045131
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #545,141 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Useful, Easily Understood Analysis of Postmod Literature, November 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Postmodernist Fiction (Paperback)

The one definable quality of postmodern literature is its resistance to definitions. Any survey of the criticism done in this field will turn up a huge number of "central characteristics," some of which seem contradictory, others of which are just plain impossible to wrap your mind around. McHale, like so many of his colleagues, does attempt a "paradigm" of postmodernism, but his at least has the advantage of being easy to grasp. Using the idea of the literary "dominant" as set forth by the narratologist/linguist Roman Jakobson, McHale argues that postmodernism in general "foregrounds" ontological issues (questions of being), as opposed to modernist writing, which foregrounds epistemological issues (questions of the nature and limits of knowledge). For example, a novel such as Carlos Fuentes' Terra Nostra is deeply postmodern to the extent that it disrupts time and space (factors that determine the nature of being) by gathering together various literary and historical figures in one place for "transtemporal feasts." A high-modernist book such as Joyce's Ulysses, on the other hand, concerns itself more with the nature of knowing: how people think, how information is created and transmitted, what discourses influence our thought and perceptions of the world, and so on. Obviously, this paradigm isn't perfect: seldom is fiction exclusively epistemological or ontological in emphasis, leaving the critic to make the highly subjective decision over which concern is foregrounded in any particular work. Nevertheless, McHale does a good job of accounting for "problem cases," explaining how texts can approach the condition of postmodernism but remain in a state of indecision (McHale classifies such texts as "limit-modernist" and offers a number of examples). Thus, even if it fails as a sure-fire way to distinguish postmodernist fish from modernist fowl, McHale's book offers a new way of looking at texts familiar to fans of both literary movements, which alone makes it a valuable addition to any library. Among the authors whose work is analyzed are Thomas Pynchon, Carlos Fuentes, Samuel Beckett, John Barth and Vladimir Nabokov, to name only a few.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Applied literary postmodernism, February 9, 2004

By 

Tara F. Chace (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Postmodernist Fiction (Paperback)

How refreshing!! Unlike so many literary theorists who rarely if ever cite a work of literature, McHale actually reads books and applies his theories to them. If you ask me, any literary postmodernist who doesn't talk about an author like Pynchon is missing the point. This is one of the best examples of applied postmodern theory I've ever read. And full of remarkable insights (like his discussion of modernism/mystery and postmodernism/sci fi). If you're interested in what postmodernism is in literature, this should be the first book you read (after one of the fun, easy guides like "Postmodernism for Beginners"). Highly recommended.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As Good as It Gets, July 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Postmodernist Fiction (Paperback)

No one has ever been able to place a great contemporary within a set framework, or at least not until they (the great contemporaries) finally fit the framework, in a way that suited the scheme of the critics of the time, or were well out of the way and hence harmless in the sense of further complicating the matter. Most of the literary criticism frameworks provided so far (20th century-wise) have been non-rigid and quite self-abating, but few are as analytical and as erudite as this. Read it; you may learn.