Kirjahaku

Martin Amis is one of the most important and distinctive writers of the last thirty years and his work continues to provoke controversy and debate. From his first novel, The Rachel Papers (1973) to his more recent Lionel Asbo (2012) his fiction has engaged with the major movements in literary and critical theory over the last four decades. His experimental approach to the novel form, his creation of complex and memorable characters, and his acute awareness of the relationship between fiction and reality mark out the distinctive elements of Amis’ work. In addition, his often-controversial representations of class, gender and race make him an important and provocative figure for contemporary literary studies. This book provides a critical survey and evaluation of his major works, identifying his commitment to stylistic expression and experiment alongside the ways in which his novels have engaged with social, cultural and political issues.

Martin Amis is one of the most important and distinctive writers of the last thirty years and his work continues to provoke controversy and debate. From his first novel, The Rachel Papers (1973) to his more recent Lionel Asbo (2012) his fiction has engaged with the major movements in literary and critical theory over the last four decades. His experimental approach to the novel form, his creation of complex and memorable characters, and his acute awareness of the relationship between fiction and reality mark out the distinctive elements of Amis’ work. In addition, his often-controversial representations of class, gender and race make him an important and provocative figure for contemporary literary studies. This book provides a critical survey and evaluation of his major works, identifying his commitment to stylistic expression and experiment alongside the ways in which his novels have engaged with social, cultural and political issues.

This 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. Key Features * Introduces the major themes and trends in British fiction over the last 30 years * Analyses a range of writers and texts including Brick Lane by Monica Ali, London Fields by Martin Amis, The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter, Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby, The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi, Atonement by Ian McEwan, Shame by Salman Rushdie, Downriver by Iain Sinclair, White Teeth by Zadie Smith, and Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson. * Presents a variety of critical perspectives essential for studying contemporary British fiction * Provides essential resources for further reading and research

This 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. Key Features * Introduces the major themes and trends in British fiction over the last 30 years * Analyses a range of writers and texts including Brick Lane by Monica Ali, London Fields by Martin Amis, The Passion of New Eve by Angela Carter, Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby, The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi, Atonement by Ian McEwan, Shame by Salman Rushdie, Downriver by Iain Sinclair, White Teeth by Zadie Smith, and Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson. * Presents a variety of critical perspectives essential for studying contemporary British fiction * Provides essential resources for further reading and research

This essential guide provides a comprehensive survey of the most important debates in the criticism and research of contemporary British fiction. Nick Bentley analyses the criticism surrounding a range of British novelists including Monica Ali, Martin Amis, Pat Barker, Alan Hollinghurst, Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McEwan, David Mitchell, Ali Smith, Zadie Smith, Sarah Waters and Jeanette Winterson. Exploring experiments with literary form, this authoritative book considers cutting-edge concerns relating to the neo-historical novel, the relationship between literature and science, literary geographies, and trauma narratives.Engaging with key literary theories, and identifying present trends and future directions in the literary criticism of contemporary British fiction, this is an invaluable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students of English literature, teachers, researchers and scholars.

This essential guide provides a comprehensive survey of the most important debates in the criticism and research of contemporary British fiction. Nick Bentley analyses the criticism surrounding a range of British novelists including Monica Ali, Martin Amis, Pat Barker, Alan Hollinghurst, Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McEwan, David Mitchell, Ali Smith, Zadie Smith, Sarah Waters and Jeanette Winterson. Exploring experiments with literary form, this authoritative book considers cutting-edge concerns relating to the neo-historical novel, the relationship between literature and science, literary geographies, and trauma narratives. Engaging with key literary theories, and identifying present trends and future directions in the literary criticism of contemporary British fiction, this is an invaluable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students of English literature, teachers, researchers and scholars.

This book offers a unique interdisciplinary examination of how youth subcultures have been articulated and constructed in selected fiction from the post-war period to the twenty-first century. It provides a theoretical underpinning for the analysis of subcultures and scenes in literary fiction, identifying approaches set against key theories from subcultural studies, sociology, and criminology as well as paying close attention to issues of literary form, genre and narrative technique. As well as identifying an overlooked body of work in postwar and contemporary fiction, it shows how literary fiction can offer a distinctive contribution to our understanding of youth and marginalized cultures. It offers close analysis of a range of novels organized around key themes and contexts including teenagers, Teds and jazz scenes in the 1950s; Beat writing and the counterculture; punk fiction; dystopian and cyberpunk fiction as well as the examination of works that foreground class, race, gender and sexuality.