Title: Reaganism, Thatcherism, and the social novel
Description: "Reagan and Thatcher changed everything - even fiction, which is often seen as a bastion of left-liberal thought. This insightful book examines the work of both British and American authors over the last 25 years in order to assess the state of both nations - and their novels - in the context of a triumphant market economy. By looking at writers as diverse as Thomas Pynchon and Martin Amis, Jonathan Franzen and Irvine Welsh, Iain Banks and Douglas Coupland, it scrutinizes the position of the white male protaganist who feels besieged by both sides of the 'culture wars'. Themes of defeat, decline and destruction abound, with the search for redemption hampered by the suspicion that the idea of personal liberation is now the property of consumerism, and the communitarian ethos carries too much conservative baggage. The author concludes that consensus, rather than rebellion, is what shapes the form and content of the social novel in our time."--Jacket.
Subjects: American Political fiction, American fiction, English Political fiction, English fiction, History, History and criticism, Influence, Political fiction, American, Political fiction, English, Politics and literature, Right and left (Political science) in literature, Social problems in literature, Thatcher, margaret, 1925-2013, Reagan, ronald, 1911-2004, English fiction, history and criticism, 20th century, American fiction, history and criticism, 20th century, Political fiction, history and criticism, Right and left (political science), LITERARY CRITICISM, European, English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Literary essays, Literary studies: from c 1900 -., Conservatism & right-of-centre democratic ideologies, Literature, Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.), Roman américain, Histoire et critique, Problèmes sociaux, Dans la littérature, Marktwirtschaft, Sozialer Roman, Thatcherismus
Places: Great Britain, United States
People: Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan
Time periods: 20th century