Quirks of the quantum
Subtitle: postmodernism and contemporary American fiction
By: Samuel Chase Coale
Series: Cultural frames, framing culture
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Charlottesville
Language: eng
Number of pages: 222
ISBN-13: 9780813932859; 9780813932866; 9780813932873
Subjects: Postmodernism (Literature); Physics in literature; American fiction; History and criticism; Quantum theory in literature; Literature and science; History
Description: Episodic and disconnected, much of postmodern fiction mirrors the world as quantum theorists describe it, according to Samuel Chase Coale. In Quirks of the Quantum, Coale shows how the doubts, misgivings, and ambiguities reflected in the postmodern American novel have been influenced by the metaphors and models of quantum theory. Coale explains the basic facets of quantum theory in lay terms and then applies them to a selection of texts, including Don DeLillo's Underworld, Joan Didion's Democracy, and Thomas Pynchon's Against the Day. Using a new approach to literature and culture, this book aims to bridge the gap between science and the humanities by suggesting the many areas where they connect. -- Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Deconstructing quantum theory: from modernism to postmodernism; title: The quantum flux as/in fiction; title: Styles of quantum leaps; title: Quantum quandaries: death and/of the self; title: Revelation of the quantum realm: underworld and against the day; title: Epilogue: a selection of postmodern critics.