This comprehensive, critical analysis of American novels of the past four decades interprets and evaluates a wide range of writers and works of what Karl views as the first sustained period of "American Modernism."

American Fictions: 1980-2000–Whose America Is It Anyway? is a successor volume to my American Fictions: 1940-1980, published in 1983. Like the preceding book, it analyzes what has happened to American fiction (short stories as well as novels) in the last twenty years against a background of social, political, and general cultural events and change, down to the end of the century. It includes most of the major trends in fiction and attempts to be inclusive. Several novels which did not receive their due when they appeared are given extended treatment, such as Brodkey’s The Runaway Soul and McElroy’s Women and Men; many other novels which were passed by because they were too difficult or too bizarre are discussed in some depth. This book does not include summaries; everything is analyzed extensively. Major movements such as Minimalism, the New Realism, the very long novel (which I call the Mega-Novel), the Vietnam War novel (as compared and contrasted with its World War Two predecessors), the Short Story and its languages are part of the study. The book also introduces a long chapter on the spate of autobiographical-fictional-memoirs which appeared in the 1980s and early 90s; as well as a comparison of Roth’s America with Updike’s, with the former’s Nathan Zuckerman and the latter’s Rabbit. Another chapter attempts to show that while Black, Jewish, and Women writers may have differing agendas, they overlap to a great extent as “American writers,” not as separate entities. The book concludes with a long chapter on the 1990s and where we are going. A distinctive part of that chapter includes current literature by Latino, Asian-American, and Native-American writers, who in the last two decades or so have entered profoundly into American fictions.

This comprehensive, critical analysis of American novels of the past four decades interprets and evaluates a wide range of writers and works of what Karl views as the first sustained period of "American Modernism."

In this remarkable book, Tony Hilfer provides a major survey of the wealth of post-war American fiction. He analyses the major modes and genres of writing, from realist to postmodernist metafiction and black humour, the fiction of social protest, women's writing, and the traditions of African-American, Southern and Jewish-American fiction. Key writers discussed include William Faulkner, Norman Mailer, Ralph Ellison, Saul Bellow, Joseph Heller, Vladimir Nabokov and Joyce Carol Oates. The book concludes by exploring contemporary trends through detailed case-studies of Donald Barthelme and Toni Morrison.

American Literature in Transition, 1970–1980 examines the literary developments of the twentieth-century's gaudiest decade. For a quarter century, filmmakers, musicians, and historians have returned to the era to explore the legacy of Watergate, stagflation, and Saturday Night Fever, uncovering the unique confluence of political and economic phenomena that make the period such a baffling time. Literary historians have never shown much interest in the era, however - a remarkable omission considering writers as diverse as Toni Morrison, Thomas Pynchon, Marilyn French, Adrienne Rich, Gay Talese, Norman Mailer, Alice Walker, and Octavia E. Butler were active. Over the course of twenty-one essays, contributors explore a range of controversial themes these writers tackled, from 1960s' nostalgia to feminism and the redefinition of masculinity to sexual liberation and rock 'n' roll. Other essays address New Journalism, the rise of blockbuster culture, memoir and self-help, and crime fiction - all demonstrating that the Me Decade was nothing short of mesmerizing.

Updated throughout and with much new material, A History of American Literature, Second Edition, is the most up-to-date and comprehensive survey available of the myriad forms of American Literature from pre-Columbian times to the present. The most comprehensive and up-to-date history of American literature available today Covers fiction, poetry, drama, and non-fiction, as well as other forms of literature including folktale, spirituals, the detective story, the thriller, and science fiction Explores the plural character of American literature, including the contributions made by African American, Native American, Hispanic and Asian American writers Considers how our understanding of American literature has changed over the past?thirty years Situates American literature in the contexts of American history, politics and society Offers an invaluable introduction to American literature for students at all levels, academic and general readers