The Hero in Contemporary American Fiction
The Works of Saul Bellow and Don Delillo
Halldorson, Stephanie S.
Hardcover
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BOOK SUMMARY
This book sets out to write nothing short of a new theory of the heroic for today's world. It delves into the why of the hero as a natural companion piece to the how of the hero as written by Northrop Frye and Joseph Campbell over half a century ago. Th
BOOK SYNOPSIS
This book sets out to write nothing short of a new theory of the heroic for today's world. It delves into the “why” of the hero as a natural companion piece to the “how” of the hero as written by Northrop Frye and Joseph Campbell over half a century ago. The novels of Saul Bellow and Don DeLillo serve as an anchor to the theory as it challenges our notions of what is heroic about nymphomaniacs, Holocaust survivors, spurious academics, cult followers, terrorists, celebrities, photographers and writers of novels who all attempt to claim the right to be “hero.”
AUTHOR BIO
Stephanie S. Halldorson is an independent scholar.
BOOK REVIEWS
Aiming to change how we think about the cult of the individual--that is, about what the hero, the anti-hero, and the heroic can mean in the United States of our dayHalldorson is not afraid to tackle big topics (and they dont come much bigger than this). This intellectually daring study combines astute historical contextualizing and canny theoretical re-conceptualizing with brilliant close readings of texts by two major American novelists."--Linda Hutcheon, University of Toronto
"This book presents a serious, substantive discussion on Bellow and DeLillo and the subject of heroes. Halldorson offers perhaps the strongest and most provocative reading of DeLillos Mao II that Ive encountered. Her assertions that the hero is always and only built upon a fictional narrative, and that the hero depends on the existence of the non-hero, even though theres no place for the non-hero in America, are intriguing and convincingly supported."--Curtis Yehnert, Western Oregon University
Halldorsons original and innovative construction of a heroics of reading is a valuable contribution to the dramatic revival of the ethical turn in literary and theoretical inquiry. Halldorson is also a masterful reader of community and identity in DeLillo and Bellow, one who is richly attuned to their complex narrative investments.--Thomas Carmichael, University of Western Ontario
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Literary Criticism Books :: American Books :: General Books
MORE BOOK INFO
ISBN: 1403983887
ISBN(13-digit): 9781403983886
Dewey Decimal: 810
Book Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Language: ENG
No. of Pages: 223
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