Bloomsbury Studies in Contemporary North American Fiction

This is a collection of original, stimulating interpretations of key texts by Don DeLillo, designed for students and edited and written by leading scholars in the field. Offering a comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the post-1990 fiction of one of America's most respected writers and cultural critics, this volume focuses on three of Don DeLillo's most recent novels - "Mao II", "Underworld", and "Falling Man" - that span pivotal moments in recent history: the end of the Cold War, the millennium, and 9/11. Bringing together original essays by scholars working in art history, urban studies, economic theory, ethnic studies alongside contemporary literature and American studies approaches, investigates DeLillo's portrait of turn-of-the-century America as it confronts globalism and terrorism. With an eye always on the impact that shifts in historical sensibility produce on aesthetic sensibility, the volume considers the role that DeLillo sees narrative playing in a world defined by digital images and provides the first extended analysis of how much faith he has in fiction's ability to convey the trauma of September 11, an event commonly conceived as resistant to all forms of artistic expression. This series offers up-to-date guides to the recent work of major contemporary North American authors. Written by leading scholars in the field, each book presents a range of original interpretations of three key texts published since 1990, showing how the same novel may be interpreted in a number of different ways. These informative, accessible volumes will appeal to advance undergraduate and postgraduate students, facilitating discussion and supporting close analysis of the most important contemporary American and Canadian fiction.