Mysticism and the Mid-Century Novel [Hardcover]

This book argues that many of the mid-twentieth century's significant novelists were united by a desire to return the increasingly interior novel to ethical engagement. They did not seek morality in society, politics or the individual will, but sought to unveil a transcendent Good by using techniques drawn from the canon of mystical literatureAcknowledgements Introduction: The Middle Is Everywhere Towards an Ideal Limit: Linguistic Authority in the Work of Iris Murdoch From Apophasis to Aporia: William Golding and the Indescribable Verbal Sludge: The Ethics of Instability in Patrick White's Prose Bliss From Bricks: Saul Bellow's Moral Phenomenology Conclusion: Drawing Circles In The Sea: Un-Defining the 'Mystical Novelist' Endnotes Works Cited Index

'Mysticism and the Mid-Century Novel is an original and eloquent treatment of early postwar fiction in English, describing authoritatively and persuasively the efforts of a range of enduringly important novelists to formulate a moral orientation and epistemology adequate to the catastrophes of their recent past. Tightly focused and lucidly and gracefully written throughout, this is a significant and very welcome addition to the growing body of scholarship on a formerly neglected phase of the novel's modern history.' - Marina Mackay, Associate Professor in English, Washington University in St. Louis, USA