Comic Sense

Reading Robert Coover, Stanley Elkin, Philip Roth

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Comic Sense by Thomas Pughe, Birkhäuser Basel
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Thomas Pughe ISBN: 9783034877466
Publisher: Birkhäuser Basel Publication: March 9, 2013
Imprint: Birkhäuser Language: English
Author: Thomas Pughe
ISBN: 9783034877466
Publisher: Birkhäuser Basel
Publication: March 9, 2013
Imprint: Birkhäuser
Language: English

The idea for this study came to me in the course of my reading of innova­ tive US-American! fiction of the last three decades. I observed that much of it is cast in the comic mode - or, more precisely, that there seems to be in contemporary fiction an affinity between 'innovation' and 'the comic' and that this affinity, furthermore, appears to be characteristic of postmo­ dernism. It is obvious, at the same time, that comic has become an elusive and, more often than not, a disputable category. Frederick Karl, in his sur­ vey of American Fictions 1940-1980, maintains, for instance, that much comic writing consists in ridicule that lacks deeper intellectual and cul­ tural roots. "Wit and mockery," he notes, "by themselves have little lasting value. Even in the best of such fiction, Gravity's Rainbow, one is made aware of attenuated skits stiched onto previous segments, rather than baked in by a defined point of view. " (Karl: 27) Such assessments of course challenge my view that the comic is in significant ways connected with what is innovative in postmodernist US-American fiction. Yet the term comic -or related terms like humour, parody, irony and so fort- is regularly and heavily employed in discussions or reviews of con­ temporary fiction.

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

The idea for this study came to me in the course of my reading of innova­ tive US-American! fiction of the last three decades. I observed that much of it is cast in the comic mode - or, more precisely, that there seems to be in contemporary fiction an affinity between 'innovation' and 'the comic' and that this affinity, furthermore, appears to be characteristic of postmo­ dernism. It is obvious, at the same time, that comic has become an elusive and, more often than not, a disputable category. Frederick Karl, in his sur­ vey of American Fictions 1940-1980, maintains, for instance, that much comic writing consists in ridicule that lacks deeper intellectual and cul­ tural roots. "Wit and mockery," he notes, "by themselves have little lasting value. Even in the best of such fiction, Gravity's Rainbow, one is made aware of attenuated skits stiched onto previous segments, rather than baked in by a defined point of view. " (Karl: 27) Such assessments of course challenge my view that the comic is in significant ways connected with what is innovative in postmodernist US-American fiction. Yet the term comic -or related terms like humour, parody, irony and so fort- is regularly and heavily employed in discussions or reviews of con­ temporary fiction.

More books from Birkhäuser Basel

Cover of the book Mechanisms and Mediators of Neuropathic Pain by Thomas Pughe
Cover of the book HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitors by Thomas Pughe
Cover of the book Industrial Robots / Robots industriels / Industrie-Roboter by Thomas Pughe
Cover of the book Inflammation and Cardiac Diseases by Thomas Pughe
Cover of the book Geodetic And Geophysical Effects Associated With Seismic And Volcanic Hazards by Thomas Pughe
Cover of the book Monitoring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Surface Waves by Thomas Pughe
Cover of the book Pain and Neurogenic Inflammation by Thomas Pughe
Cover of the book Information and Creation by Thomas Pughe
Cover of the book TGF-β and Related Cytokines in Inflammation by Thomas Pughe
Cover of the book Bone Morphogenetic Proteins by Thomas Pughe
Cover of the book Inducible Enzymes in the Inflammatory Response by Thomas Pughe
Cover of the book The Phylogeny of Anguinomorph Lizards by Thomas Pughe
Cover of the book Effects of Nicotine on Biological Systems II by Thomas Pughe
Cover of the book Monitoring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Source Location by Thomas Pughe
Cover of the book Migraine: A Neuroinflammatory Disease? by Thomas Pughe
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