CONTAMINATIONS: MAGIC REALISM IN CONTEMPORARY BRITISH FICTION.

KLONOWSKA, Barbara.

ISBN 10: 8322726104 / ISBN 13: 9788322726105

Published by Maria Curie-Sklodowska University Press,, Lublin,, 2006

About this Item

First Paperback Edition. Large 8vo. pp 286. Large format paperback. Subjects included in the index: Ian McEwan, Doris Lessing, Franz Roh, Jerzy Kamionowski, Fay Weldon, Salman Rushdie, Lois Parkinson Zamora, John Haffenden, Emma Tennant, Jeanette Winterson and Wendy Faris. ISBN: 8322726104 Fine.

Seller Inventory # C100606

Bibliographic Details

• Title: CONTAMINATIONS: MAGIC REALISM IN CONTEMPORARY BRITISH FICTION.
• Publisher: Maria Curie-Sklodowska University Press,, Lublin,
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 8322726104
• ISBN 13: 9788322726105
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine

About this title

Synopsis

Despite its nearly hundred years of history, magic realism still remains one of the most elusive literary phenomena. Commonly associated with Latin America or postcolonial literatures, it is an international trend; often defined as a form of political or ideological rebellion, it is an artistic form devoid of any given political agenda. The study argues that magic realism can be defined in terms of its poetics rather than politics, and treats magic realism as a specific case of genre contamination, systematising its different forms according to the employed conventions. Analysing specific aspects of text construction such as the spatio-temporal setting, characters, plot arrangements and narration, it distinguishes two main types of magic realism, the 'mythical' and the 'fairy-tale' one, and a number of variants employing such forms as the grotesque or the dream which constitute the spectrum of magic realist fiction.

The types of magic realism discussed in the study are illustrated with analyses of contemporary British fiction. Yet, since the typology presented is based on generic rather than culture-specific criteria, it may be applied to other literatures as well.

Dr Barbara Klonowska is an assistant professor in the Institute of English at the Catholic University of Lublin, Poland. She teaches British Literature and has published articles on contemporary British fiction.