Maximalism in Contemporary American Literature (Record no. 5825)

MARC details
000 -LEADER
fixed length control field 02553 a2200349 4500
001 - CONTROL NUMBER
control field 1317205030
005 - DATE AND TIME OF LATEST TRANSACTION
control field 20250317111621.0
008 - FIXED-LENGTH DATA ELEMENTS--GENERAL INFORMATION
fixed length control field 250312042016GB eng
020 ## - INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BOOK NUMBER
International Standard Book Number 9781317205036
037 ## - SOURCE OF ACQUISITION
Source of stock number/acquisition Taylor & Francis
Terms of availability GBP 42.99
Form of issue BB
040 ## - CATALOGING SOURCE
Original cataloging agency 01
041 ## - LANGUAGE CODE
Language code of text/sound track or separate title eng
072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code DSBH
Source thema
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Subject category code JBCC
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072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code NH
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072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code 1KB
Source bisac
072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code DSBH
Source bic
072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code JFC
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072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code H
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072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code 1KB
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072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code LIT024050
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072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code LIT024060
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072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code LIT004020
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072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code LIT000000
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072 7# - SUBJECT CATEGORY CODE
Subject category code 813.540986872
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100 1# - MAIN ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Personal name Nick Levey
245 10 - TITLE STATEMENT
Title Maximalism in Contemporary American Literature
Remainder of title The Uses of Detail
250 ## - EDITION STATEMENT
Edition statement 1
260 ## - PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC.
Place of publication, distribution, etc. Oxford
Name of publisher, distributor, etc. Routledge
Date of publication, distribution, etc. 20161118
300 ## - PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Extent 186 p
520 ## - SUMMARY, ETC.
Expansion of summary note This book begins a new and foundational discussion of maximalism by investigating how the treatment of detail in contemporary literature impels readers to navigate, tolerate, and enrich the cultural landscape of postindustrial America. It studies the maximalist novels of David Foster Wallace, Nicholson Baker, Thomas Pynchon, and others, considering how overly-detailed writing serves the institutional, emotional, and intellectual needs of contemporary readers and writers. The book argues that maximalist novels not only exceed perceived limits of style, subject matter, and scope, but strive to remake the usefulness of books in contemporary culture, refreshing the act of reading. Levey shows that while these novels are preoccupied with detail and description, they are relatively unconcerned with the traditional goals of representation. Instead, they use detail to communicate particular values and fantasies of intelligence, enthusiasm, and ability attached to the management of complex and excessive information. Whether reinvigorating the banal and trivial in mainstream culture, or soothing anxieties of human insufficiency in the age of automation and the internet, these texts model significant abilities, rather than just objects of significance, and encourage readers to develop habits of reading that complement the demands of an increasingly detailed culture. Drawing upon a diverse range of theoretical schools and cultural texts, including Thing Theory, Marxism, New Formalism, playlists, blogs, and archival manuscripts, the book proposes a new understanding of maximalist writing and a new way of approaching the usefulness of literary objects in contemporary culture.

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