A York Notes Companion for students of contemporary literature, this volume looks at the literature of our own times, shaped by recent experiences from millennial anxieties to the events of 9/11. Placing texts within a cultural and critical context, the book discusses emerging genres such as multicultural and post-colonial writing, contemporary theatre, autobiography and the neo-Victorian novel. Established writers such as A. S. Byatt, Salman Rushdie, and Carol Ann Duffy are featured alongside the newer voices of Zadie Smith, Alan Hollinghurst and Sarah Waters in a volume which offers an essential overview of the contemporary literary scene in Britain and further afield.
Part One: Introduction
Part Two: A Cultural Overview
Part Three: Texts, Writers and Contexts
The Neo-Victorian Novel - A. S. Byatt, Peter Carey, Sarah Waters
Extended commentary, Waters, Fingersmith (2002)
Contemporary Theatre - Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill, David Hare
Extended commentary, Kane, Blasted (1995)
Multicultural/Postcolonial Writing - Hanif Kureishi, Monica Ali, Zadie Smith
Extended commentary, Ali, Brick Lane (2003)
New Diversities in Contemporary Poetry - Carol Ann Duffy, Jackie Kay, Benjamin Zephaniah
Extended commentary, Duffy, Feminine Gospels (2002)
Gender and Sexuality - Jeanette Winterson, Helen Fielding, Alan Hollinghurst
Extended commentary, Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty (2004)
Writing the Self: Biography and Autobiography - Frank McCourt, David Lodge
Extended commentary, Lodge, Author, Author (2005)
Part Four: Critical theories and Debates
Remembering the Past
Post-Millennial Anxieties and Dystopia
Literature and Celebrity
Writing the Child
Part Five: Resources
Timeline
Further reading
Index
