Through the lens of contemporary critical theory, this analysis reinterprets Faulkner's literary legacy, questioning traditional notions of canon and mastery. It delves into the complexities of identity formation in his works, highlighting how male subjectivity often marginalizes women and Black characters. By employing poststructuralist, psychoanalytic, ideological, and gender theories, the book reveals that Faulkner's textual universe is shaped by broader cultural discourses, suggesting a shared ownership of meaning rather than an individual claim.
Philip Weinstein explores the modernist commitment to unknowing by addressing
the work of three supreme experimental writers: Franz Kafka, Marcel Proust,
and William Faulkner. In their novels, the narrative props that support the
drama of coming...
St. Louis, Missouri, is a quietly dying river city until it hires a new police chief: a charismatic young woman from Bombay, India, named S. Jammu. No sooner has Jammu been installed, though, than the city's leading citizens become embroiled in an all-pervasive political conspiracy. A classic of contemporary fiction, The Twenty-Seventh City shows us an ordinary metropolis turned inside out, and the American Dream unraveling into terror and dark comedy.
Jonathan Franzen: The Comedy of Rage is the first critical biography of one of today's most important novelists. Drawing on unpublished emails and both published and private interviews, Philip Weinstein conveys the feel and heft of Franzen's voice as he ponders the purposes and problems of his life and art, from his earliest fiction to his most recent novel, Purity. Franzen's work raises major questions about the possibilities of contemporary fiction: how does one appeal to a wide audience of mainstream readers, on the one hand, while persuading connoisseurs, on the other, that one's fiction has staying power, is high art? More acutely, how did Franzen move from the rage that animates his first two novels to the more generous comic stance of the later novels on which his reputation rests? Wrestling with these questions, Jonathan Franzen: The Comedy of Rage unpacks the becoming of Franzen as a person and a writer-from his ultra-sensitive Midwestern childhood, through his heady years at Swarthmore College, his marriage, and the alienating decade of the 1990s, up to his spectacular ascent and assimilation into pop culture as one of the literary figures of his generation. Weinstein joins biography and criticism in ways that fully respect their differences, but that also grant that the work comes, however unpredictably, out of the life.
The book explores the imaginative processes and literary techniques of Henry James, examining how his unique perspective shaped his narratives. It delves into the complexities of his characters and themes, offering insights into his contributions to literature and the ways he challenged conventional storytelling. Through critical analysis, it highlights the significance of imagination in James's works, providing a deeper understanding of his influence on modern literary thought.
The book explores the evolution of the protagonist's identity through the lens of desire and value in literature, tracing a lineage from Dickens and George Eliot to Hardy, Conrad, Lawrence, and Joyce. Philip Weinstein analyzes how characters transition from being defined by cultural and semantic constructs to embodying raw desire and natural impulses, highlighting the increasing sexualization of the imagined body in fiction.
William Faulkner, a Nobel Laureate and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, is renowned for his profound exploration of Southern values and complex societal issues. His acclaimed novel, The Sound and the Fury, is often regarded as a literary masterpiece. Faulkner's challenging stream-of-consciousness writing style, while innovative, has led to many of his works being overlooked by readers. His literature continues to resonate with contemporary themes, making his insights into family and society both timeless and significant.
