Patrick McGrath: Directions and Transgressions

This book is the first collected volume to be entirely dedicated to the work of contemporary Anglo-American writer Patrick McGrath. It follows the international conference that was held in his presence at Perpignan University, France, in May 2011.It comprises nine chapters (as well as an introduction and an index) written by scholars specializing in Gothic and American literature, each dealing with specific aspects of McGraths work. The volume seeks to encompass the authors whole literary production to date, spanning a 25-year writing career. It also features an exclusive afterword written by the author himself, who attended all the papers given during the conference with great attention and often intensely enthusiastic reactivity.The editors intention is twofold. The idea was first to provide a comprehensive survey of Patrick McGraths writing, returning to the aspects that are usually associated with the authors work, such as his artful narrative control, his inclination for stories of transgression and decay, as well as his long-lasting reflexive relationship with the Gothic and the Grotesque. Yet the aim of this volume is also to open new directions for the study of McGraths texts, taking into account the noticeable evolution of the writers literary production, its growing Americanization and gradual distanciation with modes of excess. It seems that it is no longer possible to tag McGraths work as neo- or postmodern Gothic. His books growing complexity and change of horizons call for fresh investigations.This book will be of interest to students of McGraths work, scholars of the Gothic and its contemporary manifestations, as well as to all academics specializing in contemporary American fiction. See more