Aesthetics and Ethics in Twenty-First Century British Novels: Zadie Smith, Nadeem Aslam, Hari Kunzru and David Mitchell

Description

A fresh set of concerns face the twenty-first century British novelist. In this study of the four key novelists Zadie Smith, Nadeem Aslam, Hari Kunzru and David Mitchell, the the changes in narrative approaches and critical directions of a new post-1989 fiction are explored. Close readings of the writers are informed by a range of contemporary theorists, critics and commentators to reveal the emphases of twenty-first century fiction. Terror, fear, consumerism, multinationalism, and corporatism: the terms circulating in culture and social networks are evident in Smith's faith in ethical living, Aslam's consideration of multiculturalism, the novels Kunzru builds around the politics of identity and in the importance Mictchell places on the interconnectedness of human life. By putting the emergence of a new British literary dynamic in the context of ethical as well as global contexts, this study analyzes the transformed fictional perceptions of a world no longer defined by the stand off of super powers. Title page Copyright Page Contents Introduction Empire Fiction Notes Chapter 1 Zadie Smith Two Directions: White Teeth Two Experiments: The Autograph Man and On Beauty Notes Chapter 2 Hari Kunzru Subjectivity: The Impressionist Global Noise: Transmission Notes Chapter 3 Nadeem Aslam Solitude: Maps for Lost Lovers Terror: The Wasted Vigil Notes Chapter 4 David Mitchell Amanuenses Multitude: Cloud Atlas Notes Bibliography Index