Thomas Phillips is an English Lecturer at North Carolina State University, USA.

"This is a very well written, theoretically complex, and conceptually lucid work that wishes to analyze the intersection of aesthetic practices and the articulation of subjectivity: who we are and how we interact with the world and with ourselves. Phillips is equally sophisticated and successful in his analysis and deep probing of the texts at hand, whether they be philosophical, psychological, cultural, or artistic (literature, performance pieces, or music). The scope of the writing is far-reaching; the project is very ambitious; the mind behind the work is very sharp and insightful. Phillips proves his talents over and over again." - Annabel Martin, Associate Professor of Spanish, Comparative Literature, and Women's and Gender Studies, Dartmouth College, USA

• Introduction 1. Stirrings of Discontent: A Theoretical Context 2. Becoming Fiction: Sarraute, Stein, Hemingway 3. Carver, Sarraute, Toussaint 4. Echenoz, Fabre, DeLillo 5. Lights Camera Action 6. 'Mark the Music': Microsound and Becoming-Silence 7. The Masochistic Body 8. The 'Somaesthetic' Turn: Becoming-Minimal 9. On Virtue, Verbs, and the Virtual Conclusion and Post Script: On Being Able