Rethinking Fiction after the 2007/8 Financial Crisis: Consumption, Economics, and the American Dream

The book explores how the 2007/8 financial crisis and the Great Recession impacted American fiction, focusing on four books that present issues such as poverty, wealth, equality, distinction, opportunity, and genre and interpretation. It also examines how the novels highlight the decreasing social mobility of Americans.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 196 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This captivating book delves into the profound impact of the 2007/8 financial crisis and the subsequent Great Recession on American fiction. Through an interdisciplinary approach that seamlessly blends literary studies with anthropology, economics, sociology, and psychology, the author endeavors to assess the transformative changes facilitated by the crisis in the American novel. The study focuses on a select quartet of books: Elizabeth Strouts My Name Is Lucy Barton, Philipp Meyers American Rust, Sophie McManuss The Unfortunates, and William Gibsons The Peripheral. By meticulously tracing the ways in which these works present themes such as poverty, wealth, equality, distinction, opportunity, and their interconnectedness with both traditional critiques of consumer culture and the US economy, particularly in light of the crisis's heightened attention, the study offers a comprehensive exploration. Moreover, it delves into the issue of genre and interpretation during this period, as well as the innovative methods employed by the analyzed novels to highlight the declining social mobility of Americans. This insightful and thought-provoking work provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of the literary landscape during a pivotal period in American history.

Weight: 380g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367750787