Reality Hunger
Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Books & Reading, Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
| Author: | David Shields | ISBN: | 9780307593238 |
| Publisher: | Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group | Publication: | February 23, 2010 |
| Imprint: | Vintage | Language: | English |
| Author: | David Shields |
| ISBN: | 9780307593238 |
| Publisher: | Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |
| Publication: | February 23, 2010 |
| Imprint: | Vintage |
| Language: | English |
A landmark book, “brilliant, thoughtful” (The Atlantic) and “raw and gorgeous” (LA Times), that fast-forwards the discussion of the central artistic issues of our time, from the bestselling author of The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead.
Who owns ideas? How clear is the distinction between fiction and nonfiction? Has the velocity of digital culture rendered traditional modes obsolete? Exploring these and related questions, Shields orchestrates a chorus of voices, past and present, to reframe debates about the veracity of memoir and the relevance of the novel. He argues that our culture is obsessed with “reality,” precisely because we experience hardly any, and urgently calls for new forms that embody and convey the fractured nature of contemporary experience.
A landmark book, “brilliant, thoughtful” (The Atlantic) and “raw and gorgeous” (LA Times), that fast-forwards the discussion of the central artistic issues of our time, from the bestselling author of The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead.
Who owns ideas? How clear is the distinction between fiction and nonfiction? Has the velocity of digital culture rendered traditional modes obsolete? Exploring these and related questions, Shields orchestrates a chorus of voices, past and present, to reframe debates about the veracity of memoir and the relevance of the novel. He argues that our culture is obsessed with “reality,” precisely because we experience hardly any, and urgently calls for new forms that embody and convey the fractured nature of contemporary experience.
