Cosmopolitanism in Contemporary British Fiction : Imagined Identities

This book is a concise and engaging analysis of contemporary literature viewed through the critical lens of cosmopolitan theory. It covers a wide spectrum of issues including globalisation, cosmopolitanism, nationhood, identity, philosophical nomadism, posthumanism, climate change, devolution and love. Cosmopolitanism in Contemporary British Fiction: Imagined Identities is a concise, lively and engaging analysis of contemporary literature viewed through the critical lens of cosmopolitan theory. It covers a wide spectrum of theoretical issues including globalisation, cosmopolitanism, nationhood, identity, philosophical nomadism, posthumanism, climate change, devolution and love. Texts discussed include those by Zoe Strachan, Philip Pullman, Jeanette Winterson, Nadeem Aslam, Ali Smith, and David Mitchell, to which original, compelling and persuasive readings are applied. Considerations of identity and nation, including gender, sexuality and social class are applied to the close readings in order to open up the textual possibilities and pleasures for the critical reader. It follows a new direction in literary criticism by demonstrating ways in which contemporary fiction is offering a response to planetary rather than national or postcolonial issues and, by doing so, is encompassing an ethical as well as political cosmopolitanism that seeks to connect citizens within a humanitarian and environmental global community Front Matter....Pages i-viii Introduction....Pages 1-17 Front Matter....Pages 19-19 ‘Cross that Bridge’: Journeying through Zoe Strachan’s Negative Space....Pages 21-44 ‘Boundaries. Desire’: Philosophical Nomadism in Jeanette Winterson’s The Powerbook and The Stone Gods....Pages 45-74 Front Matter....Pages 75-75 ‘Fellow Humans’: Cosmopolitan Citizens in Nadeem Aslam’s Maps for Lost Lovers....Pages 77-108 ‘The Bridge to the Stars’: Travelling Home in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials....Pages 109-138 Front Matter....Pages 139-139 ‘Around We Go’: Transpositional Life Cycles in David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas....Pages 141-163 ‘Remember You Must Live. Remember You Most Love. Remember You Must Leave’: Passing through Ali Smith’s Hotel World....Pages 164-184 Conclusion: World Without Frontiers?....Pages 185-194 Back Matter....Pages 195-206 "This is a fresh and stimulating study which devolves contemporary British fiction in new and insightful directions."--Aaron Kelly, Lecturer, University of Edinburgh, UK