The Cambridge Companion to American Fiction after 1945

A comprehensive 2011 guide to the genres, historical contexts, cultural diversity and major authors of American fiction since the Second World War.

John N. Duvall (Edited by)

9780521196314, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 8 December 2011

292 pages, 2 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.56 kg

'This selection of essays maintains the high standard of content and presentation of other companions in this series. It provides an up-to-date survey of the field in an approachable and manageably-sized volume, and as such would be an important addition [to] university libraries serving American studies, literature or similar departments, as well as public libraries.' Linda Kemp, Reference Reviews

Each generation revises literary history and this is nowhere more evident than in the post-Second World War period. This 2011 Companion offers a comprehensive, authoritative and accessible overview of the diversity of American fiction since the Second World War. Essays by nineteen distinguished scholars provide critical insights into the significant genres, historical contexts, cultural diversity and major authors during a period of enormous American global political and cultural power. This power is overshadowed, nevertheless, by national anxieties growing out of events ranging from the Civil Rights Movement to the rise of feminism; from the Cold War and its fear of Communism and nuclear warfare to the Age of Terror and its different yet related fears of the 'Other'. American fiction since 1945 has faithfully chronicled these anxieties. An essential reference guide, this Companion provides a chronology of the period, as well as guides to further reading.

Introduction: a story of the stories of American fiction after 1945 John N. Duvall
Part I. Poetics and Genres: 1. Postmodern metafiction Amy Elias
2. Contemporary realism Robert Rebein
3. New journalism and the non-fiction novel Stacey Olster
4. Science fiction Philip Wegner
5. The short story Susan Lohafer
Part II. Historical and Cultural Contexts: 6. African American fiction Keith Byerman
7. American Indian fiction Nancy J. Peterson
8. Multiethnicities: Latino/a and Asian American fiction A. Robert Lee
9. American Jewish fiction Victoria Aarons
10. Feminist fiction Jane Elliot
11. Southern fiction Martyn Bone
12. Fiction and the Cold War Alan Nadel
13. Fiction and 9/11 John N. Duvall
Part III. Major Authors: 14. Ralph Ellison Nicole Waligora-Davis
15. Flannery O'Connor Jay Watson
16. Thomas Pynchon Brian Jarvis
17. Toni Morrison Linden Peach
18. Don DeLillo Laura Barrett
Conclusion: whither American fiction? Jessica Pressman
Index.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers [DSK], Literary studies: from c 1900 - [DSBH], Literary studies: general [DSB]