Politics and Literature at the Turn of the Millennium [Paperback]

This book shows how important insights about genocide, poverty, state violence, world terrorism, the clash of civilizations, and other phenomena haunting the world at the turn of the millennium can be derived from contemporary novels. Keren demonstrates ways in which fictional literature can provide new perspectives on the complexities and contingencies of contemporary politics. His fresh readings of well-known novels will be valuable to political scientists as well as anyone interested in current affairs who reads fiction but is not always aware of its power to provide enlightenment on world issues. Works by José Saramago, Cormac McCarthy, Anosh Irani, John le Carré, and Yann Martel, among others, are studied.

This book demonstrates the contribution of contemporary fiction to an understanding of the complexities and contingencies of contemporary politics, for political scientists as well as people who are interested in current affairs and read novels but are not always aware of their power to provide enlightenment on world issues.

Michael Kerenis Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and Film at the University of Calgary.