The Maximalist Novel

From Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow to Roberto Bolano's 2666

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, American
Cover of the book The Maximalist Novel by Stefano Ercolino, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Stefano Ercolino ISBN: 9781623561901
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: June 19, 2014
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic Language: English
Author: Stefano Ercolino
ISBN: 9781623561901
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: June 19, 2014
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Language: English

The Maximalist Novel sets out to define a new genre of contemporary fiction that developed in the United States from the early 1970s, and then gained popularity in Europe in the early twenty-first century.

The maximalist novel has a very strong symbolic and morphological identity. Ercolino sets out ten particular elements which define and structure it as a complex literary form: length, an encyclopedic mode, dissonant chorality, diegetic exuberance, completeness, narrratorial omniscience, paranoid imagination, inter-semiocity, ethical commitment, and hybrid realism. These ten characteristics are common to all of the seven works that centre his discussion: Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, Underworld by Don DeLillo, White Teeth by Zadie Smith, The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, 2666 by Roberto Bolaño, and 2005 dopo Cristo by the Babette Factory.

Though the ten features are not all present in the same way or form in every single text, they are all decisive in defining the genre of the maximalist novel, insofar as they are systematically co-present. Taken singularly, they can be easily found both in modernist and postmodern novels, which are not maximalist. Nevertheless, it is precisely their co-presence, as well as their reciprocal articulation, which make them fundamental in demarcating the maximalist novel as a genre.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Maximalist Novel sets out to define a new genre of contemporary fiction that developed in the United States from the early 1970s, and then gained popularity in Europe in the early twenty-first century.

The maximalist novel has a very strong symbolic and morphological identity. Ercolino sets out ten particular elements which define and structure it as a complex literary form: length, an encyclopedic mode, dissonant chorality, diegetic exuberance, completeness, narrratorial omniscience, paranoid imagination, inter-semiocity, ethical commitment, and hybrid realism. These ten characteristics are common to all of the seven works that centre his discussion: Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, Underworld by Don DeLillo, White Teeth by Zadie Smith, The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, 2666 by Roberto Bolaño, and 2005 dopo Cristo by the Babette Factory.

Though the ten features are not all present in the same way or form in every single text, they are all decisive in defining the genre of the maximalist novel, insofar as they are systematically co-present. Taken singularly, they can be easily found both in modernist and postmodern novels, which are not maximalist. Nevertheless, it is precisely their co-presence, as well as their reciprocal articulation, which make them fundamental in demarcating the maximalist novel as a genre.

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book Coaching Essentials by Stefano Ercolino
Cover of the book Historical Teleologies in the Modern World by Stefano Ercolino
Cover of the book Surveillance and Film by Stefano Ercolino
Cover of the book A Theory of Catholic Education by Stefano Ercolino
Cover of the book Viking, Laval and Beyond by Stefano Ercolino
Cover of the book Continuing Professional Teacher Development in Sub-Saharan Africa by Stefano Ercolino
Cover of the book The Rolling Stones' Some Girls by Stefano Ercolino
Cover of the book Peckuwe 1780 by Stefano Ercolino
Cover of the book The Politics of Youth in Greek Tragedy by Stefano Ercolino
Cover of the book British Prime Ministers and Democracy by Stefano Ercolino
Cover of the book Basics Design: Print and Finish by Stefano Ercolino
Cover of the book From a Photograph by Stefano Ercolino
Cover of the book Valensteins by Stefano Ercolino
Cover of the book Art Beyond Representation by Stefano Ercolino
Cover of the book The Perfect Egg by Stefano Ercolino
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy