Levey Maximalism in Contemporary American Literature

The Uses of Detail
Erscheinungsjahr 2016
ISBN: 978-1-317-20503-6
Verlag: CRC Press
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 186 Seiten

Reihe: Routledge Studies in Contemporary Literature

This book begins a new and foundational discussion of maximalism by investigating how the treatment of detail in contemporary literature impels readers to navigate, tolerate, and enrich the cultural landscape of postindustrial America. It studies the maximalist novels of David Foster Wallace, Nicholson Baker, Thomas Pynchon, and others, considering how overly-detailed writing serves the institutional, emotional, and intellectual needs of contemporary readers and writers. The book argues that maximalist novels not only exceed perceived limits of style, subject matter, and scope, but strive to remake the usefulness of books in contemporary culture, refreshing the act of reading. Levey shows that while these novels are preoccupied with detail and description, they are relatively unconcerned with the traditional goals of representation. Instead, they use detail to communicate particular values and fantasies of intelligence, enthusiasm, and ability attached to the management of complex and excessive information. Whether reinvigorating the banal and trivial in mainstream culture, or soothing anxieties of human insufficiency in the age of automation and the internet, these texts model significant abilities, rather than just objects of significance, and encourage readers to develop habits of reading that complement the demands of an increasingly detailed culture. Drawing upon a diverse range of theoretical schools and cultural texts, including Thing Theory, Marxism, New Formalism, playlists, blogs, and archival manuscripts, the book proposes a new understanding of maximalist writing and a new way of approaching the usefulness of literary objects in contemporary culture.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Levey, Nick

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Englische Literatur Amerikanische Literatur
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Strömungen & Epochen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction: Without Lamps

1. On Giants: Reading Detail in Thomas Pynchon's Gravity’s Rainbow

2. On Flunking Out: Maximalism at School in David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest

3. Data-Sickle: Maximalism and White-Collar Aesthetics in David Foster Wallace's The Pale King

4. Broken Idles: Nicholson Baker's The Mezzanine and Maximalist Reparation

5. Housebound: Domestic Excess in Nicholson Baker's Room Temperature

6. Mindless Pleasures: Reading Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice in the Shadow of Maximalism

Conclusion: Disharmonies

Über Autor(innen)

Nick Levey teaches in the English Department at La Trobe University, Australia. He publishes on contemporary fiction and is currently writing about post-press literature and the rise of digital self-publishing.