John McGahern and Modernism

John McGahern's work is not easily classified as modernist, but his concern with "making it old rather than new" suggests a covert engagement with modernist aesthetics. Richard Robinson's study explores the ways in which McGahern's fiction conceals and reveals its modernist traces, considering subjects such as "low modernism," the complexity of McGahern's time-writing, and his dialectical construction of the relationship between cultural tradition and modernity in Ireland. The book will be of interest to McGahern scholars and those who contemplate the compromised legacies of literary modernism in late-twentieth-century and contemporary writing.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 28 June 2018
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

John McGahern's literary work defies easy categorization as belonging to the late modernist movement. His distinctive style, characterized by a nostalgic and somewhat archaic tone, suggests a preoccupation with reviving the essence of the past rather than embracing the novelty of modernism. However, closer examination of McGahern's statements reveals a subtle and covert engagement with modernist aesthetics. Richard Robinson's insightful study delves into McGahern's six novels and thematically grouped short stories, placing them in dialogue with the writings of Joyce, Proust, Yeats, Beckett, Nietzsche, Lawrence, and Chekhov, among others. Through this comparative analysis, Robinson highlights the ways in which McGahern's fiction conceals and reveals its modernist traces. The study explores subjects such as "low modernism," the intricate portrayal of time in McGahern's writing, and his nuanced construction of the interplay between cultural tradition and modernity in Ireland. While McGahern's narratives of melancholic return are frequently interpreted psycho-biographically, they also involve a profound return to the remnants of literature, including those of the modernist canon. This book appeals to scholars of McGahern's work as well as those interested in examining the complex legacies of literary modernism in late-twentieth-century and contemporary writing.

Weight: 436g
Dimension: 158 x 235 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350075122