Novels of the Contemporary Extreme [Hardcover]

This book investigates a new form of fiction that is currently emerging in contemporary literature across the globe. 'Novels of the contemporary extreme' - from North and South America, from Europe, and the Middle East - are set in a world both similar to and different from our own: a hyper real, often apocalyptic world progressively invaded by popular culture, permeated with technology and dominated by destruction. While their writing is commonly classified as 'hip' or 'underground' literature, authors of contemporary extreme novels have often been the center of public controversy and scandal; they, and their work, become international bestsellers. This collection of essays identifies and describes this international phenomenon, investigating the appeal of these novels' styles and themes, the reasons behind their success, and the fierce debates they provoked.

AcknowledgementsContributors Introduction; Alian-Philippe Durand and Naomi Mandel Part I: Americas 1. 'Right Here in Nowheres': American Psycho and Violence's Critique; Naomi Mandel 2. Telling doubles and Literal Minded Reading in Bret Easton Ellis' Glamorama; Henrik Skov Nielsen 3. Posthumous Voice and Residual Presence in Don DeLillo's The Body Artist; Mikko Keskinen 4. A Post-Apocalyptic World: The Excremental, Abject Female Warriors of Jos?e Yvon; Paula Ruth Gilbert with Colleen Lester 5. On the Impossibility of Being Contemporary in Nelly Arcan's Folle; Martine Delvaux 6. Media-Portrayed Violence in Alberto Fuguet's Tinta roja; Jason G. Summers Part II: Europe and the Middle East7. Sadomasochism, Castration and Rape: Richard Morgi?ve's Nightmare Theater of Primal Scenes; Ralph Schoolcraft 8. Dantec's Inferno; Lawrence R. Schehr 9. Apocalypse Now: Fins de si?cles in the French Novel; Sabine van Wesemael 10. Beyond The Extreme: Fr?d?ric Beigbeder's Windows on the World; Alain-Philippe Durand 11. Am?lie Nothomb's Dialectic of the Sublime and the Grotesque; Martine Guyot-Bender 12. Violence Bitinglƒ0