| Reconstructing the Family in Contemporary American Fiction Contributor(s): Daemmrich, Horst (Editor), McCarthy, Desmond F. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0820442666 ISBN-13: 9780820442662 Publisher: Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publi OUR PRICE: $30.35 Product Type: Paperback Published: December 1998 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Family & Relationships | Alternative Family - Literary Criticism | American - General |
| Dewey: 813.540 |
| Lexile Measure: 1470 |
| Series: Studies on Themes and Motifs in Literature |
| Physical Information: 166 pages |
| Themes: - Topical - Family |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The prevalence of alternative families in contemporary American fiction is significant given the concern and confusion precipitated by the decline in traditional nuclear families in recent decades. John Irving's The World According to Garp, Alice Walker's The Color Purple and E. L. Doctorow's Ragtime contain compelling utopian depictions of alternative families that are more egalitarian than traditional nuclear families. John Updike's Rabbit, Run and Rabbit Redux are interesting counterpoints to the optimistic novels of Irving, Walker, and Doctorow. Although Updike depicts the traditional nuclear family as the site of considerable ennui and unhappiness, attempts to flee or reconstruct the family in his novels are staggeringly destructive. |