Synopses & Reviews
John Banville's Narcissistic Fictions is an exploration of Banville's novels from the point of view of various psychoanalytic understandings of the concept of narcissism. It presents this increasingly central figure in contemporary fiction as a writer for whom narcissism is both an essential truth of selfhood and a fundamental aspect of the writing of fiction. Though it deals with a number of theoretical concepts, it does so in a straightforward and highly accessible manner. The book is not simply a reading of a single, isolated aspect of Banville's work; rather, it presents narcissism as the key to understanding this writer, and as a way of bringing together the various disparate strands - thematic, stylistic and formal - of his complex and enigmatic oeuvre.
Review
To come
Synopsis
In reading Banville's novels through the work of key psychoanalytical theorists, John Banville's Narcissistic Fictions brings together apparently disparate thematic strands - missing twins, shame, false identities - and presents these as manifestations of a central concern with narcissism.
About the Author
Mark O'Connell teaches contemporary British and Irish fiction in the School of English, Trinity College Dublin, UK, where he recently completed an IRCHSS Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. He has published essays on twentieth- and twenty-first century fiction in Studies in the Novel, Critique, Orbis Litterarum, Irish Studies Review and Irish University Review. He is a staff writer for The Millions.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. Banville's Narcissists
3. Missing Twins
4. The False Self
5. Shame
6. Narrative Narcissism
7. The Paradox of Empathy
8. Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index