The Cambridge introduction to postmodern fiction Designed for students and clearly written this Introduction explains the preoccupations styles and techniques that unite postmodern authors. Their work is characterized by a self reflexive acknowledgement of its status as fiction and by the various ways in which it challenges readers to question commonsense and commonplace assumptions about literature Provided by publisher Postmodern fiction presents a challenge to the reader: instead of enjoying it passively the reader has to work to understand its meanings to think about what fiction is and to question their own responses. Yet this very challenge makes postmodern writing so much fun to read and rewarding to study. Unlike most introductions to postmodernism and fiction this book places the emphasis on literature rather than theory. It introduces the most prominent British and American novelists associated with postmodernism from the pioneers Beckett Borges and Burroughs to important post war writers such as Pynchon Carter Atwood Morrison Gibson Auster DeLillo and Ellis. Designed for students and clearly written this Introduction explains the preoccupations styles and techniques that unite postmodern authors. Their work is characterized by a self reflexive acknowledgement of its status as fiction and by the various ways in which it challenges readers to question common sense and commonplace assumptions about literature Provided by publisher