{"product_id":"speaking-havoc-ramu-nagappan-9780295985572","title":"Speaking Havoc: Social Suffering \u0026 South Asian Narratives","description":"\u003cp\u003eWho has the right to speak about trauma? As cultural products, narratives of social suffering paradoxically release us from responsibility while demanding that we examine our own connectedness to the circumstances that produce suffering. As a result, the text's act of \"speaking havoc\" rebounds in unsettling ways.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSpeaking Havoc\u003c\/i\u003e investigates how literary and cinematic fictions intervene in the politics and reception of social suffering. Amitav Ghosh's modernist novel \u003ci\u003eThe Shadow Lines\u003c\/i\u003e (1988), \u003ci\u003eA Fine Balance\u003c\/i\u003e (1995) by Rohinton Mistry, the short stories of Saadat Hasan Manto, Salman Rushdie's postmodernist novel \u003ci\u003eShame\u003c\/i\u003e (1983), and the \"spectacular\" films of Maniratnam: each bears witness to social violence in South Asia. These works confront squarely a number of ethical dilemmas in representations of social suffering--the catastrophes and innumerable minor tragedies that arise from clashes among religious and ethnic communities.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFocusing on central events such as the Partition of 1947, the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1984, and more recent religious conflicts between India and Pakistan, Nagappan demonstrates the differing ways that narratives engage--often in ambiguous and problematic ways--the political violence that has marked the last fifty years of South Asian history. Is it possible to tell fully the stories of those who have died and those who have survived? Can writing really act as a counter to silence? In his compassionate engagement with these concerns, Nagappan demonstrates the relevance of literature and literary studies to fundamental sociological, anthropological, and political issues.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith its interdisciplinary scope, historical perspective, and lucid style, \u003ci\u003eSpeaking Havoc\u003c\/i\u003e is destined to become a foundational text for scholars of South Asian studies and postcolonial and cultural studies, and for readers interested in trauma and social suffering as well as in the literature, films, and histories that take this field as their topic.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ramu Nagappan\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0295985577\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780295985572\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Washington Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/20\/2005\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.74lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.36h x 5.70w x 0.63d","brand":"Ramu Nagappan","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48013718126847,"sku":"9780295985572","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_01e9e8b0-440c-494a-9662-9c6adda5aaf7.jpg?v=1767744333","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/speaking-havoc-ramu-nagappan-9780295985572","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}