1st Edition

Rethinking Race and Identity in Contemporary British Fiction

By Sara Upstone Copyright 2017
    204 Pages
    by Routledge

    204 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book takes a post-racial approach to the representation of race in contemporary British fiction, re-imagining studies of race and British literature away from concerns with specific racial groups towards a more sophisticated analysis of the contribution of a broad, post-racial British writing. Examining the work of writers from a wide range of diverse racial backgrounds, the book illustrates how contemporary British fiction, rather than merely reflecting social norms, is making a radical contribution towards the possible future of a positively multi-ethnic and post-racial Britain. This is developed by a strategic use of the realist form, which becomes a utopian device as it provides readers with a reality beyond current circumstances, yet one which is rooted within an identifiable world.





    Speaking to the specific contexts of British cultural politics, and directly connecting with contemporary debates surrounding race and identity in Britain, the author engages with a wide range of both mainstream and neglected authors, including Ian McEwan, Zadie Smith, Julian Barnes, John Lanchester, Alan Hollinghurst, Martin Amis, Jon McGregor, Andrea Levy, Bernardine Evaristo, Hanif Kureishi, Kazuo Ishiguro, Hari Kunzru, Nadeem Aslam, Meera Syal, Jackie Kay, Maggie Gee, and Neil Gaiman. This cutting-edge volume explores how contemporary fiction is at the centre of re-thinking how we engage with the question of race in twenty-first-century Britain.



    Contents





     



    Introduction: Utopian Realism and Writing Beyond Race



    Chapter 1: Utopian Histories: Retroactive Possibilities



    Chapter 2: Utopian Destinies: Anti-biological Textualities



    Chapter 3: Utopian Ecologies: Post-human, Post-racial



    Chapter 4: Utopian Bodies: Some Kind of Blackness



    Chapter 5: Utopian Difference: Making Love



    Chapter 6: Utopian Failures: Pitfalls of the Post



    Chapter 7: Utopian Realities: Practical Utopias



    Works Cited

    Biography

    Sara Upstone is Principal Lecturer in English Literature and Creative Writing at Kingston University, UK.