Mimesis, Genres and Post-Colonial Discourse Deconstructing Magic Realism [Hardcover]

Through a broad-ranging survey of the allegory, utopia, the historical novel and the epic in post-colonial literature, Jean-Pierre Durix proposes a critical reassessment of the theory of genres. He argues that, in the New Literatures which are often rooted in hybrid aesthetics, the often decried mimesis must be viewed from a completely different angle. Analysing texts by Gabriel Garc?a M?rquez, Salman Rushdie, Alejo Carpentier, Wilson Harris and Edouard Glissant, he pleads for the redefinition of 'magic realism' if the term is to retain generic relevance.General Introduction PART I: ARE DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN GENRES STILL RELEVANT? A Compulsive Search for Taxinomy? Major Themes and Genres PART II: REALITY, REALISM AND MIMESIS A Brief Historical Reminder of the Relationship Between Art and Mimesis Art and a New 'Repossessed' Post-Colonial Reality PART III: FROM FANTASY TO MAGIC REALISM The Fantastic and 'Magic Realism' Definitions of the Fantastic Magic Realism: The Building of a Literary Genre Some Characteristics of Magic Realism in the Works of Rushdie and Garc?a M?rquez Magic Realism and the New Literatures PART IV: TOWARDS HYBRID AESTHETICS Definitions of 'Culture' Post-Colonial Literatures and Hybridization Edouard Glissant's Aesthetic Theories Wilson Harris and Palace of the Peacock Conclusion Bibliography IndexJean-Pierre Durix is Professor of English at the University of Bourgegone at Dijon, France.