A01=James Peacock
Author_James Peacock
Category=DSBH
Category=DSK
Edgar Allan Poe*CHRIS*
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
Essay
fiction
Great power
In the Country of Last Things
Moon Palace
Mourning
Mr Vertigo
Narrative
novel
Oracle Night
Paul Auster
poetry
Raymond Chandler
Sren Kierkegaard
The Book of Illusions
The Invention of Solitude
The Music of Chance
The New York Trilogy
Writing
Product details
- ISBN 9781611170528
- Weight: 228g
- Dimensions: 127 x 177mm
- Publication Date: 03 Mar 2017
- Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
Understanding Paul Auster is a comprehensive companion to the work of a writer who effectively balances a particular combination of Jewish American identity and European sensibility across an impressive breadth of novels, screenplays, essays, and poetry. James Peacock views Auster as chiefly concerned with the individual's problematic relationship with language, a theme present from the enigmatic poetry of Auster's early career to the more inclusive and optimistic imaginings of the films Smoke and Blue in the Face and the novels Timbuktu, The Brooklyn Follies, and Man in the Dark.
Peacock's study maps the evolution of Auster's fiction and its forms, goals, and influences. Peacock argues that the key event for any Auster character is the realization that language should not be restricted to documenting reality but should instead be embraced for its metaphorical qualities and constantly shifting nature. Peacock finds in Auster a view of language as inherently ethical and communal because, to use language creatively, one must be immersed in the plurality of experience and listen to the voices of others. In celebrated works such as The Invention of Solitude and The New York Trilogy, these voices include Auster's literary antecedents. Increasingly in his recent work, however, they include those of ordinary people. Peacock suggests that in the aftermath of 9/11, much of Auster's fiction places even greater importance on sympathetic relations with ordinary individuals and advocates through artistic endeavors the merits of connecting with others.
Peacock's study maps the evolution of Auster's fiction and its forms, goals, and influences. Peacock argues that the key event for any Auster character is the realization that language should not be restricted to documenting reality but should instead be embraced for its metaphorical qualities and constantly shifting nature. Peacock finds in Auster a view of language as inherently ethical and communal because, to use language creatively, one must be immersed in the plurality of experience and listen to the voices of others. In celebrated works such as The Invention of Solitude and The New York Trilogy, these voices include Auster's literary antecedents. Increasingly in his recent work, however, they include those of ordinary people. Peacock suggests that in the aftermath of 9/11, much of Auster's fiction places even greater importance on sympathetic relations with ordinary individuals and advocates through artistic endeavors the merits of connecting with others.
All three editors are affiliated with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. James L. Peacock is Kenan Professor of Anthropology and professor of comparative literature. His most recent book is The Anthropological Lens: Harsh Light, Soft Focus. Harry L. Watson is professor of history and director of the Center for the Study of the American South. He is author of four books, including Andrew Jackson vs. Henry Clay: Democracy and Development in Antebellum America. Carrie R. Matthews is a Ph.D. candidate in comparative literature.
