{"product_id":"aggressive-fictions-reading-the-contemporary-american-novel-hardback-9780801450013","title":"Aggressive Fictions; Reading the Contemporary American Novel (Hardback) 9780801450013","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eAggressive Fictions\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eReading the Contemporary American Novel\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eKathryn Hume (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780801450013\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 15 January 2012\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e216 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.454 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e[This]book deserves credit for both its transparent structure and its meticulous analysis and classification of the various narratological functions and effects.\u003c\/p\u003e - Birgit Däwes (Amerikastudien \/ American Studies) \u003cp\u003eThe virtue of Hume's new book is that it covers a wide range of writers and integrates several not commonly associated... Fictionists who have been almost forgotten by scholars, such as Robert Coover, are given new life by comparisons with current favorites such as Chuck Palahniuk and Katherine Dunn.\u003c\/p\u003e - Jerome Klinkowitz (American Literary Scholarship) \u003cp\u003eUsing examples from more than forty works, Hume constructs a plausible discussion for what she terms average readers who may find some aspects of contemporary literature difficult to enjoy: she writes that 'aggressive fiction tramples reader sensibilities, offends and upsets willfully and deliberately.' The result is a brilliant view of important shifts in literature. Hume creates an exhilarating treatment for those interested in understanding the shifts in authorial motivation and content. She argues that subverting traditional plots and patterns, along with character development, creates a dissonance worthy of extended examination. Highly recommended.\u003c\/p\u003e (Choice)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA frequent complaint against contemporary American fiction is that too often it puts off readers in ways they find difficult to fathom.\u003c\/b\u003e Books such as Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho, Katherine Dunn's Geek Love, and Don DeLillo's Underworld seem determined to upset, disgust, or annoy their readers—or to disorient them by shunning traditional plot patterns and character development. Kathryn Hume calls such works \"aggressive fiction.\" Why would authors risk alienating their readers—and why should readers persevere? Looking beyond the theory-based justifications that critics often provide for such fiction, Hume offers a commonsense guide for the average reader who wants to better understand and appreciate books that might otherwise seem difficult to enjoy. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn her reliable and sympathetic guide, Hume considers roughly forty works of recent American fiction, including books by William Burroughs, Kathy Acker, Chuck Palahniuk, and Cormac McCarthy. Hume gathers \"attacks\" on the reader into categories based on narrative structure and content. Writers of some aggressive fictions may wish to frustrate easy interpretation or criticism. Others may try to induce certain responses in readers. Extreme content deployed as a tactic for distancing and alienating can actually produce a contradictory effect: for readers who learn to relax and go with the flow, the result may well be exhilaration rather than revulsion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction: The Author-Reader ContractChapter 1. Narrative Speed in Contemporary Fiction\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Terrible Twos, The Terrible Threes, John's Wife, Bombardiers, Oreo, Microserfs, Negrophobia, The Ticket That Exploded, My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist\u003c\/i\u003eChapter 2. Modalities of Complaint\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003ePortnoy's Complaint, Don Quixote, Pussy, King of the Pirates, Mercy, The Color Purple, Donald Duk, Doctor Rat, My Year of Meats\u003c\/i\u003eChapter 3. Conjugations of the Grotesque\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eGeek Love, Invisible Monsters, The Adventures of Lucky Pierre, Towing Jehovah, Elect Mr. Robinson for a Better World, Bearheart: The Heirship Chronicles, Blood Meridian\u003c\/i\u003e, and several speculative fictionsChapter 4. Violence\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eDark Property, The Road, American Psycho, Hogg, Frisk, Try, Blood and Guts in High School \u003c\/i\u003eChapter 5. Attacking the Reader's Ontological Assumptions\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eLying Awake, Fight Club, Ubik, House of Leaves, Against the Day\u003c\/i\u003eConclusion: Why Read Aggressive Fictions?\u003ci\u003eNotes\u003cbr\u003e Bibliography\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cornell University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52541629169944,"sku":"9780801450013","price":39.79,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/aggressive-fictions-reading-the-contemporary-american-novel-hardback-9780801450013","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}