Oxford University Press The Novel & the Globalization of Culture

This book analyses the emergence of the modern global novel, and the way it mirrors the underlying process of the globalization of culture. It focuses on Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge, Conrad's Lord Jim, Achebe's Things Fall Apart and No Longer At Ease, and Vargas Llosa's The War at the end of the World. In these works, a global narrative unfolds, as the forces of modernization tragically clash with the embattled defenders of traditional society. Review As fascinating as the individual chapters are, in this case the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts....At the deepest level, the book transcends the limits of literary criticism, and makes a substantial contribution to contemporary debates over the end of history and the global spread of modern Western culture. This is without question one of the most interesting and important books to grow out of the contemporary movement to expand the literary canon and to view European culture within a larger global context. ― Virginia Quarterly Review