Addiction, Representation and the Experimental Novel, 1985–2015

Addiction, Representation and the Experimental Novel, 1985–2015

By Heath A. Diehl

The book analyzes the practices and politics of reading the experimental addiction novel, and outlines both a practice and an ethics of reading that advocates for a more compassionate response to addicts than the Western realistic novel traditionally has offered.

PDF, 176 Pages

ISBN:9781785276149

December 2020

£25.00, $40.00

EPUB, 176 Pages

ISBN:9781785276156

December 2020

£25.00, $40.00

  • About This Book
  • Reviews
  • Author Information
  • Series
  • Table of Contents
  • Links
  • Podcasts

About This Book

Across the past two centuries, the Western novel has propagated the narrow view of the addict as a toxic force bent on undermining the rationality, morality, and progressive spirit that have, since the Enlightenment, defined civilization in the West. Addiction, Representation undertakes an investigation into an alternative literary tradition within which the addict is neither doomed to a horrific death nor sacrificed to the Twelve Steps so that the “recovering addict” might survive. At the center of this investigation is a modest collection of contemporary novels, originally published in the thirty-year span between 1985 and 2015, that exhibits experimental narrative techniques and, in doing so, unsettles the limited portrayal of the addict that has dominated the Western realistic novel since the nineteenth century.

Examining the works of John O’Brien, Sara Gran, Paula Hawkins, Bret Easton Ellis, and Grace Krilanovich, the book argues that the ways in which readers occupy the narratives of contemporary experimental fiction can be instructive for how to live in an extra-diegetic world, where attitudes toward addicts often are as narrow, restrictive, and damaging as they historically have been expressed in the Western novel. The book concerns itself with the practices and politics of reading the experimental addiction novel, and outlines both a practice and an ethics of reading that advocates for a more compassionate response not only to fictional addicts, but also to the actual addicts whose lived experiences gave birth to the existing fiction.

Reviews

This thoroughly-researched book approaches the study of literature about addiction from a highly original perspective that combines affect theory and classic reader-response approaches in the analysis of readerly sympathy and empathy. Diehl demonstrates an encyclopedic knowledge of literature about, and theories of, addiction. While his close readings make this work invaluable to anyone teaching about addiction in the English literature classroom, his numerous examples also make it an essential source for any researcher interested in literary portrayals of addiction. — Brandon P. Bisbey, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Spanish, Coordinator of Latina/o and Latin American Studies, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago.

The book does an outstanding job of analyzing the complex reality of addiction in contemporary novels. Moreover, this work explores the limits and characteristics of these creations, seeking to understand form and content, as well as the relevance of complex physical and emotional themes in our society without polarizing and actually caring about the addict. — Jorge Gonzalez del Pozo, Professor of Spanish, University of Michigan-Dearborn

Addiction, Representation and the Experimental Novel, 1985-–2015 challenges what we think we know – not only about narratives of addiction, but about experimental fiction itself. Diehl proves that traditional methods, cannily applied, yield bracingly fresh insights. Prepare to take a second look at the popular novels that shape our culture.” —Susan Zieger, Professor of English & Director of Graduate Admissions, University of California, Riverside

Author Information

Heath A. Diehl is Teaching Professor in the Department of English and Honors College at Bowling Green State University. He is the author of Wasted: Performing Addiction in America.

Series

No series for this title.

Table of Contents

Introduction; 1. Bearing Witness: Leaving Las Vegas (1990); 2. Betraying: Dope (2006); 3. Gaslighting: The Girl on the Train (2015); 4. Transgressing: Less Than Zero (1985); 5. Disorienting: The Orange Eats Creeps (2010); Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

Links

No Podcasts for this title.
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