The Cambridge Companion to Literature and the Weird

The Weird-a transgressive mode of fiction redolent with ooze, tentacles, and unfathomable geometries-has proven to be one of the most influential genres of the past century, despite being one of the most difficult to define. This volume charts the development of the Weird, from its origins in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (drawing connections to both popular, pulp fiction and 'high' Modernism) to the New Weird of today and related global forms. Leading scholars explore this troubling genre, offering global perspectives that go beyond the narrow frame of Euro-American fiction, to include works from Africa, Asia, and Scandinavia, as well as Indigenous voices, and ranging from novels and magazines to movies and games. The Cambridge Companion to Literature and the Weird is both a comprehensive history and a broad reimagining of the field, perfect for general readers, undergraduate researchers, and scholars of the form.