Laughing at the Darkness: Postmodernism and Optimism in American Humour (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781847601896)

Paul McDonald's book is the second in the Humanities Ebooks Contemporary American Literature Series, edited by Christopher Gair and Aliki Varvogli. Given that postmodernism has been associated with doubt, chaos, relativism and the disappearance of reality, it may appear difficult to reconcile with American optimism. Laughing at the Darkness demonstrates that this is not always the case. In examining the work of, among others, Sherman Alexie, Woody Allen, Douglas Coupland, Jonathan Safran Foer, Bill Hicks, David Mamet, and Philip Roth, McDonald shows how American humourists bring their comedy to bear on some of the negative implications of philosophical postmodernism and, in so doing, explore ways of reclaiming value. Paul McDonald is the author of three other HEB titles, The Philosophy of Humour, Reading Morrison's Beloved, and Reading Heller's Catch-22, all available from Lulu.

Author: Paul McDonald
ISBN-10: 1847601898
ISBN-13: 9781847601896
Publisher: Humanities-eBooks
Language: English
Published: 10/11/2016
Pages: 152
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.51lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.35d