Contemporary Critical Perspectives – serie

Kazuo Ishiguro is one of the finest and most accomplished contemporary writers of his generation. The short story author, television writer and novelist, included twice in Granta's list of Best Young British Writers, has over the past twenty-five years produced a body of work which is just as critically-acclaimed as it is popular with the general public. Like the writings of Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguro's work is concerned with creating discursive platforms for issues of class, ethics, ethnicity, nationhood, place, gender and the uses and problems surrounding artistic representation. As a Japanese immigrant who came to Great Britain in 1960, Ishiguro has used his unique position and fine intellectual abilities to contemplate what it means to be British in the contemporary era. This guide traces the main themes throughout Ishiguro's writing whilst it also pays attention to his short stories and writing for television. It includes a new interview with the author, a preface by Haruki Murakami and discussion of James Ivory's adaptation of The Remains of the Day.

Kazuo Ishiguro is one of the finest and most accomplished contemporary writers of his generation. The short story author, television writer and novelist, included twice in Grantas list of Best Young British Writers, has over the past twenty-five years produced a body of work which is just as critically-acclaimed as it is popular with the general public. Like the writings of Ian McEwan, Kazuo Ishiguros work is concerned with creating discursive platforms for issues of class, ethics, ethnicity, nationhood, place, gender and the uses and problems surrounding artistic representation. As a Japanese immigrant who came to Great Britain in 1960, Ishiguro has used his unique position and fine intellectual abilities to contemplate what it means to be British in the contemporary era. This guide traces the main themes throughout Ishiguros writing whilst it also pays attention to his short stories and writing for television. It includes a new interview with the author, a preface by Haruki Murakami and discussion of James Ivorys adaptation of The Remains of the Day.

This is an up-to-date reader of critical essays on J. G. Ballard by leading international academics, which includes a short biography, timeline and comprehensive guided further reading.J.G. Ballard is one of the most significant British writers of the contemporary period. His award-winning novels are widely studied and read, yet the appeal of Ballard's idiosyncratic, and often controversial, imagination is such that his work also enjoys something of a cult status with the reading public. The hugely successful cinematic adaptations of "Empire of the Sun" (Spielberg, 1987) and "Crash" (Cronenberg, 1996) further confirm Ballard's unique place within the literary, cultural and popular imaginations.This guide includes new critical perspectives on Ballard's major novels as well as his short stories and journalistic writing covering issues of form, narrative and experimentation.Whilst offering fresh readings of dominant and recurring themes in Ballard's writing, including history, sexuality, violence, consumer capitalism, and urban space, the contributors also explore Ballard's contribution to major contemporary debates including those surrounding post 9/11 politics, terrorism, neo-imperialism, science, morality and ethics."Guides in the Contemporary Critical Perspectives" series provide companions to reading and studying major contemporary authors. Each guide includes new critical essays combining textual readings, cultural analysis and discussion of key critical and theoretical issues in a clear, accessible style. They also include a preface by a major contemporary writer, a new interview with the author, discussion of film and TV adaptation and guidance on further reading.

This is an up-to-date reader of critical essays on J. G. Ballard by leading international academics, which includes a short biography, timeline and comprehensive guided further reading.J.G. Ballard is one of the most significant British writers of the contemporary period. His award-winning novels are widely studied and read, yet the appeal of Ballard's idiosyncratic, and often controversial, imagination is such that his work also enjoys something of a cult status with the reading public. The hugely successful cinematic adaptations of "Empire of the Sun" (Spielberg, 1987) and "Crash" (Cronenberg, 1996) further confirm Ballard's unique place within the literary, cultural and popular imaginations.This guide includes new critical perspectives on Ballard's major novels as well as his short stories and journalistic writing covering issues of form, narrative and experimentation.Whilst offering fresh readings of dominant and recurring themes in Ballard's writing, including history, sexuality, violence, consumer capitalism, and urban space, the contributors also explore Ballard's contribution to major contemporary debates including those surrounding post 9/11 politics, terrorism, neo-imperialism, science, morality and ethics."Guides in the Contemporary Critical Perspectives" series provide companions to reading and studying major contemporary authors. Each guide includes new critical essays combining textual readings, cultural analysis and discussion of key critical and theoretical issues in a clear, accessible style. They also include a preface by a major contemporary writer, a new interview with the author, discussion of film and TV adaptation and guidance on further reading.

Celebrated as a poet, novelist and non-fiction writer, and the winner of numerous major literary prizes including the Whitbread Poetry Prize, the T.S. Eliot Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, John Burnside is one of Britain’s leading contemporary writers.John Burnside: Contemporary Critical Perspectives brings together leading scholars of contemporary literature to guide readers through the full range of the author's writings, from his fiction and poetry to his autobiographical and nature writing, exploring texts such as The Dumb House, The Light Trap, A Lie about My Father, Glister and Black Cat Bone. The book examines the major themes of Burnside's work, including the environment and the natural world, hauntings and dwelling, and his intertextual engagement with philosophy, music and the visual arts. Featuring a timeline of Burnside’s life, an interview with the writer himself and a detailed list of further reading, this is the first authoritative guide to this major contemporary writer.

Don DeLillo is widely regarded as one of the most significant, and prescient, writers of our time. Since the 1960s, DeLillo’s fiction has been at the cutting edge of thought on American identity, globalization, technology, environmental destruction, and terrorism, always with a distinctively macabre and humorous eye.Don DeLillo: Contemporary Critical Perspectives brings together leading scholars of the contemporary American novel to guide readers through DeLillo’s oeuvre, from his early short stories through to 2016’s Zero K, including his theatrical work. As well as critically exploring DeLillo’s engagement with key contemporary themes, the book also includes a new interview with the author, annotated guides to further reading, and a chronology of his life and work.

The first British writer to win the Booker Prize on two separate occasions - for Wolf Hall in 2009 and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies in 2012 - Hilary Mantel is one of the most popular and lauded novelists working today.Hilary Mantel: Contemporary Critical Perspectives is a critical guide to Mantel's work, from her earliest novels through to her recent Thomas Cromwell fictions, including analysis of her short story collections and memoir. Chapters cover such topics as Mantel's engagement with history to her deployment of the spectral and her extensive intertextuality. The book also includes a comprehensive interview with Mantel herself that explores her work and career.

Don DeLillo is widely regarded as one of the most significant, and prescient, writers of our time. Since the 1960s, DeLillo’s fiction has been at the cutting edge of thought on American identity, globalization, technology, environmental destruction, and terrorism, always with a distinctively macabre and humorous eye.Don DeLillo: Contemporary Critical Perspectives brings together leading scholars of the contemporary American novel to guide readers through DeLillo’s oeuvre, from his early short stories through to 2016’s Zero K, including his theatrical work. As well as critically exploring DeLillo’s engagement with key contemporary themes, the book also includes a new interview with the author, annotated guides to further reading, and a chronology of his life and work.

David Mitchell is one of the most critically acclaimed authors in contemporary global writing. Novels such as Ghostwritten, Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks demonstrate the author’s dazzling literary technique in an oeuvre that crosses genres, genders and borders, moving effortlessly through time and space.David Mitchell: Contemporary Critical Perspectives brings together leading scholars of contemporary fiction to guide readers through the full range of the author's writings, including discussions of all of his novels to-date plus his shorter fictions, essays and libretti. As well as offering extended coverage of Mitchell’s most popular work, Cloud Atlas, the authors explore Mitchell’s genre-hopping techniques, world-making aesthetics, and engagements with key contemporary issues such as globalization, empire, the environment, disability, trauma and technology. In addition, this book includes an expansive interview with David Mitchell as well as a guide to further reading to help students and readers alike explore the works of this tremendously inventive writer.

Celebrated as a poet, novelist and non-fiction writer, and the winner of numerous major literary prizes including the Whitbread Poetry Prize, the T.S. Eliot Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, John Burnside is one of Britain’s leading contemporary writers.John Burnside: Contemporary Critical Perspectives brings together leading scholars of contemporary literature to guide readers through the full range of the author's writings, from his fiction and poetry to his autobiographical and nature writing, exploring texts such as The Dumb House, The Light Trap, A Lie about My Father, Glister and Black Cat Bone. The book examines the major themes of Burnside's work, including the environment and the natural world, hauntings and dwelling, and his intertextual engagement with philosophy, music and the visual arts. Featuring a timeline of Burnside’s life, an interview with the writer himself and a detailed list of further reading, this is the first authoritative guide to this major contemporary writer.

Bringing together cultural analysis and textual readings on critically-acclaimed bestseller and winner of the prestigious Women’s Prize for Fiction, Maggie O’Farrell, this collection covers her nine novels, her memoir I Am, I Am, I Am, two children’s books and features an exclusive interview with the author herself.The first full-length study of O’Farrell’s work, this book offers critical explorations from her earliest works to the award-winning Hamnet and most recent best-selling novel, The Marriage Portrait.With a timeline of her life and works, as well as suggested further reading, the themes explored include grief and sacrifice, longing and belonging, trauma, translation, palimpsestic texts and the relation of her work to history and the female domestic gothic.

Bringing together cultural analysis and textual readings on critically-acclaimed bestseller and winner of the prestigious Women’s Prize for Fiction, Maggie O’Farrell, this collection covers her nine novels, her memoir I Am, I Am, I Am, two children’s books and features an exclusive interview with the author herself.The first full-length study of O’Farrell’s work, this book offers critical explorations from her earliest works to the award-winning Hamnet and most recent best-selling novel, The Marriage Portrait.With a timeline of her life and works, as well as suggested further reading, the themes explored include grief and sacrifice, longing and belonging, trauma, translation, palimpsestic texts and the relation of her work to history and the female domestic gothic.

Rachel Cusk is one of the most critically acclaimed and controversial contemporary British authors. Her diverse body of work offers a striking portrait of trends in 21st-century literature, and the history of Cusk’s literary output is one of experimentation and a desire to push against established cultural models.Rachel Cusk: Contemporary Critical Perspectives is the first critical guide to Cusk's work, spanning novels including Saving Agnes, A Country Life, and Second Place, her 'autofictional' Outline trilogy, and her nonfiction A Life's Work, The Last Supper, Aftermath and the Coventry essays. Rigorous and wide-ranging, this book provides an accessible and lucid introduction to Cusk's work, exploring themes of gender relations, class dynamics, maternal identity and creative freedom. The collection concludes with an in-depth interview with Cusk, conducted by Merve Emre, reflecting on her influences, writing and experiences.Mapping the formal and stylistic shift across her career and locating them within their specific contexts, this collection provides a crucial analysis of Cusk's influences, politics, and literary techniques that speak to many of the most pressing issues in contemporary literature.

Rachel Cusk is one of the most critically acclaimed and controversial contemporary British authors. Her diverse body of work offers a striking portrait of trends in 21st-century literature, and the history of Cusk’s literary output is one of experimentation and a desire to push against established cultural models.Rachel Cusk: Contemporary Critical Perspectives is the first critical guide to Cusk's work, spanning novels including Saving Agnes, A Country Life, and Second Place, her 'autofictional' Outline trilogy, and her nonfiction A Life's Work, The Last Supper, Aftermath and the Coventry essays. Rigorous and wide-ranging, this book provides an accessible and lucid introduction to Cusk's work, exploring themes of gender relations, class dynamics, maternal identity and creative freedom. The collection concludes with an in-depth interview with Cusk, conducted by Merve Emre, reflecting on her influences, writing and experiences.Mapping the formal and stylistic shift across her career and locating them within their specific contexts, this collection provides a crucial analysis of Cusk's influences, politics, and literary techniques that speak to many of the most pressing issues in contemporary literature.

In such novels as Hotel World and the Whitbread Prize winning The Accidental, Ali Smith has established herself as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary fiction. Covering her complete oeuvre, from the short stories to her most recent novel There but for the, this is the first comprehensive critical guide to Smith's work. Bringing together leading scholars, Ali Smith: Contemporary Critical Perspectives covers such topics as: • Language, truth and reality • Spectral presences and the uncanny • Gender and sexuality • Cosmopolitanism • Smith's place in the contemporary canon Including a new interview with the author, a chronology of her life and authoritative guides to further reading, this is an essential guide for anyone interested in the best of contemporary fiction.

Andrea Levy has emerged as one of the most significant and popular voices in contemporary black British writing both in the UK and abroad. Drawing on a familial history of emigration, her critically-acclaimed novels - including the multiple award-winning Small Island - attempt to bring a variety of voices to the representation of black experience in post-war Britain. This book is the first of its kind to be devoted to Levy’s work. Combining historical, theoretical and textual perspectives, the volume hosts a wide range of current critical approaches to Levy’s fiction. With chapters written by leading established and emerging scholars, the book explores issues of literary form, diasporic literature and cultural value, the BBC TV adaptation of Small Island, while also shedding fresh light on Levy’s critically neglected early works. The book also includes a new interview with Levy herself, a timeline of her life, chapter summaries, as well as guides to further reading and online resources, making this an essential companion to the writings of one of the most exciting voices in contemporary fiction.

This is an up-to-date critical collection on the work of contemporary British novelist, Julian Barnes. Julian Barnes is one of the most refined British writers and distinguished intellectuals of his generation whose rich body of work has been awarded many literary prizes both in the UK and abroad. Although primarily a novelist and essayist, the 'chameleon of British letters' has also written short stories, television scripts and a screenplay. This critical guide provides a wide range of current critical perspectives on Barnes' work from early bestselling novels "Flaubert's Parrot and "The History of the World in 10-1/2 Chapters" up to "Arthur and George". Including contributions by some of the finest critics working in the contemporary field, it reflects the richness and diversity of one of Britain's greatest living writers. "Guides in the Contemporary Critical Perspectives" series provide companions to reading and studying major contemporary authors. Each guide includes new critical essays combining textual readings, cultural analysis and discussion of key critical and theoretical issues in a clear, accessible style.They also include a preface by a major contemporary writer, a new interview with the author, discussion of film and TV adaptation and guidance on further reading.

Sir Salman Rushdie is perhaps the most significant living novelist in English. His second novel, Midnight’s Children, is regularly cited as the ‘Booker of Bookers’ and its impact is still being felt throughout in world literature. His fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, led to the ‘Rushdie Affair’ certainly the most significant literary-political event since the Second World War. Rushdie has continued to produce challenging fiction, controversial, thought-provoking non-fiction and has a presence on the world stage as a public intellectual. This collection brings together leading scholars to provide an up-to-date critical guide to Rushdie’s writing from his earliest works up to the most recent, including his 2012 memoir of his time in hiding, Joseph Anton. Contributors offer new perspectives on key issues, including: Rushdie as a postcolonial writer; Rushdie as a postmodernist; his use and reuse of the canon; the ‘Rushdie Affair’; his responses to 9/11 and to the ‘War on Terror’; and issues of more complex philosophical weight arising from his fiction.

Ian McEwan is one of the most significant, and controversial, British novelists working today. His books are both critically - and academically - acclaimed and embraced by readers across the world. Although primarily a novelist, he has also written short stories, television plays, a libretto, a children's book and a film adaptation. Across these many forms his work retains a distinctive character that explores questions of morality, place and history, nationhood, sexuality and gender.Now fully updated for its second edition, this guide brings together a collection of new critical perspectives on McEwan's oeuvre, not only covering the early works and his writing for the screen but also incorporating detailed and original analyses of the later work, including new readings of his latest books, Solar and Sweet Tooth. With an updated and extended guide to further critical reading on McEwan, the book also includes an interview with the author himself, a chronology of his life, work and times and the full text of a lost early McEwan short story.

This is an up-to-date critical collection on the work of contemporary British novelist, Julian Barnes. Julian Barnes is one of the most refined British writers and distinguished intellectuals of his generation whose rich body of work has been awarded many literary prizes both in the UK and abroad. Although primarily a novelist and essayist, the 'chameleon of British letters' has also written short stories, television scripts and a screenplay. This critical guide provides a wide range of current critical perspectives on Barnes' work from early bestselling novels "Flaubert's Parrot and "The History of the World in 10-1/2 Chapters" up to "Arthur and George". Including contributions by some of the finest critics working in the contemporary field, it reflects the richness and diversity of one of Britain's greatest living writers. "Guides in the Contemporary Critical Perspectives" series provide companions to reading and studying major contemporary authors. Each guide includes new critical essays combining textual readings, cultural analysis and discussion of key critical and theoretical issues in a clear, accessible style.They also include a preface by a major contemporary writer, a new interview with the author, discussion of film and TV adaptation and guidance on further reading.

In such novels as Hotel World and the Whitbread Prize winning The Accidental, Ali Smith has established herself as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary fiction. Covering her complete oeuvre, from the short stories to her most recent novel There but for the, this is the first comprehensive critical guide to Smith's work. Bringing together leading scholars, Ali Smith: Contemporary Critical Perspectives covers such topics as: • Language, truth and reality • Spectral presences and the uncanny • Gender and sexuality • Cosmopolitanism • Smith's place in the contemporary canon Including a new interview with the author, a chronology of her life and authoritative guides to further reading, this is an essential guide for anyone interested in the best of contemporary fiction.

Andrea Levy has emerged as one of the most significant and popular voices in contemporary black British writing both in the UK and abroad. Drawing on a familial history of emigration, her critically-acclaimed novels - including the multiple award-winning Small Island - attempt to bring a variety of voices to the representation of black experience in post-war Britain. This book is the first of its kind to be devoted to Levy’s work. Combining historical, theoretical and textual perspectives, the volume hosts a wide range of current critical approaches to Levy’s fiction. With chapters written by leading established and emerging scholars, the book explores issues of literary form, diasporic literature and cultural value, the BBC TV adaptation of Small Island, while also shedding fresh light on Levy’s critically neglected early works. The book also includes a new interview with Levy herself, a timeline of her life, chapter summaries, as well as guides to further reading and online resources, making this an essential companion to the writings of one of the most exciting voices in contemporary fiction.

Sir Salman Rushdie is perhaps the most significant living novelist in English. His second novel, Midnight’s Children, is regularly cited as the ‘Booker of Bookers’ and its impact is still being felt throughout in world literature. His fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, led to the ‘Rushdie Affair’ certainly the most significant literary-political event since the Second World War. Rushdie has continued to produce challenging fiction, controversial, thought-provoking non-fiction and has a presence on the world stage as a public intellectual. This collection brings together leading scholars to provide an up-to-date critical guide to Rushdie’s writing from his earliest works up to the most recent, including his 2012 memoir of his time in hiding, Joseph Anton. Contributors offer new perspectives on key issues, including: Rushdie as a postcolonial writer; Rushdie as a postmodernist; his use and reuse of the canon; the ‘Rushdie Affair’; his responses to 9/11 and to the ‘War on Terror’; and issues of more complex philosophical weight arising from his fiction.

A multiple award-winning author, Sarah Waters is one of the most critically and commercially successful novelists writing today. In such novels as Fingersmith, Tipping the Velvet, Affinity and The Night Watch, her writing has played compellingly with popular and generic forms and narrative techniques and covered a number of important contemporary themes. This critical guide is the first book to offer a wide range of current critical perspectives on Waters' work. With chapters written by leading established and emerging scholars the book explores issues such as gender, sexuality, class, time and space in Waters' fiction, as well as her appropriation of a range of genres from the historical and neo-victorian novel to the gothic. The book also includes a new interview with Waters herself, a timeline of her life, chapter summaries and guides to further reading, making this an essential guide to the work of one of the most exciting voices in contemporary fiction.

A multiple award-winning author, Sarah Waters is one of the most critically and commercially successful novelists writing today. In such novels as Fingersmith, Tipping the Velvet, Affinity and The Night Watch, her writing has played compellingly with popular and generic forms and narrative techniques and covered a number of important contemporary themes. This critical guide is the first book to offer a wide range of current critical perspectives on Waters' work. With chapters written by leading established and emerging scholars the book explores issues such as gender, sexuality, class, time and space in Waters' fiction, as well as her appropriation of a range of genres from the historical and neo-victorian novel to the gothic. The book also includes a new interview with Waters herself, a timeline of her life, chapter summaries and guides to further reading, making this an essential guide to the work of one of the most exciting voices in contemporary fiction.

Since his astonishing Academy Award-nominated film, My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), Hanif Kureishi has been recognized as a major writer who has both documented and profoundly influenced contemporary British culture. His first novel, The Buddha of Suburbia (1990), remains a key work in redefining our sense of what it means to be English in the postcolonial era.Hanif Kureishi: Contemporary Critical Perspectives brings together leading scholars of contemporary British fiction and culture to reassess the full range of the author's writings, from novels such as The Black Album, My Son the Fanatic and Something to Tell You to films such as Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, My Son the Fanatic and Venus. As well as exploring Kureishi's handling of such themes as Thatcherism, terrorism, race, class and sexuality, the book move moves beyond sociological and psychoanalytical approaches, examining the stylistic features of his most recent novel, The Last Word. The volume includes interviews with Stephen Frears, the director of My Beautiful Launderette, and with Hanif Kureishi himself, as well as a foreword by Roger Michell, who has directed several of the author’s screenplays, most recently Le Week-End.

Since his astonishing Academy Award-nominated film, My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), Hanif Kureishi has been recognized as a major writer who has both documented and profoundly influenced contemporary British culture. His first novel, The Buddha of Suburbia (1990), remains a key work in redefining our sense of what it means to be English in the postcolonial era.Hanif Kureishi: Contemporary Critical Perspectives brings together leading scholars of contemporary British fiction and culture to reassess the full range of the author's writings, from novels such as The Black Album, My Son the Fanatic and Something to Tell You to films such as Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, My Son the Fanatic and Venus. As well as exploring Kureishi's handling of such themes as Thatcherism, terrorism, race, class and sexuality, the book move moves beyond sociological and psychoanalytical approaches, examining the stylistic features of his most recent novel, The Last Word. The volume includes interviews with Stephen Frears, the director of My Beautiful Launderette, and with Hanif Kureishi himself, as well as a foreword by Roger Michell, who has directed several of the author’s screenplays, most recently Le Week-End.

David Mitchell is one of the most critically acclaimed authors in contemporary global writing. Novels such as Ghostwritten, Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks demonstrate the author’s dazzling literary technique in an oeuvre that crosses genres, genders and borders, moving effortlessly through time and space.David Mitchell: Contemporary Critical Perspectives brings together leading scholars of contemporary fiction to guide readers through the full range of the author's writings, including discussions of all of his novels to-date plus his shorter fictions, essays and libretti. As well as offering extended coverage of Mitchell’s most popular work, Cloud Atlas, the authors explore Mitchell’s genre-hopping techniques, world-making aesthetics, and engagements with key contemporary issues such as globalization, empire, the environment, disability, trauma and technology. In addition, this book includes an expansive interview with David Mitchell as well as a guide to further reading to help students and readers alike explore the works of this tremendously inventive writer.