{"product_id":"aggressive-fictions-reading-the-contemporary-american-novel-hardcover","title":"Aggressive Fictions: Reading the Contemporary American Novel - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eKathryn Hume\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA frequent complaint against contemporary American fiction is that too often it puts off readers in ways they find difficult to fathom. Books such as Bret Easton Ellis's \u003ci\u003eAmerican Psycho\u003c\/i\u003e, Katherine Dunn's \u003ci\u003eGeek Love\u003c\/i\u003e, and Don DeLillo's \u003ci\u003eUnderworld\u003c\/i\u003e seem determined to upset, disgust, or annoy their readers--or to disorient them by shunning traditional plot patterns and character development. Kathryn Hume calls such works \"aggressive fiction.\" Why would authors risk alienating their readers--and why should readers persevere? Looking beyond the theory-based justifications that critics often provide for such fiction, Hume offers a commonsense guide for the average reader who wants to better understand and appreciate books that might otherwise seem difficult to enjoy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn her reliable and sympathetic guide, Hume considers roughly forty works of recent American fiction, including books by William Burroughs, Kathy Acker, Chuck Palahniuk, and Cormac McCarthy. Hume gathers \"attacks\" on the reader into categories based on narrative structure and content. Writers of some aggressive fictions may wish to frustrate easy interpretation or criticism. Others may try to induce certain responses in readers. Extreme content deployed as a tactic for distancing and alienating can actually produce a contradictory effect: for readers who learn to relax and go with the flow, the result may well be exhilaration rather than revulsion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKathryn Hume is Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of English at The Pennsylvania State University. She is the author of several books, including \u003ci\u003eAmerican Dream, American Nightmare: Fiction since 1960\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSurviving Your Academic Job Hunt: Advice for Humanities PhDs.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 216\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.9 x 9 x 6.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e January 15, 2012\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45837560676549,"sku":"9780801450013","price":121.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0757\/6718\/5605\/files\/9AY1Dbho9e9780801450013.webp?v=1771281620","url":"https:\/\/selloorium.com\/products\/aggressive-fictions-reading-the-contemporary-american-novel-hardcover","provider":"Selloorium","version":"1.0","type":"link"}