Synopses & Reviews
George Mackay Brown has long been recognized as one of the most original and important Scottish writers of the twentieth century. This book is the first comprehensive account of Brown's work from a philosophical perspective and offers a radical new approach to the study of Scottish literature. The importance of local community in the work of Scottish novelists has often been noted, but few critics have addressed the relation of this concept to current philosophical and sociological models of community. Timothy C. Baker uses Brown's work as a primary case study to demonstrate the dominance of the relationship between the individual and community in Scottish fiction. Baker traces the development of Brown's writing through contemporary studies of community, respecting both continental and Anglo-American traditions. He argues that Brown's importance is not only confined within a Scottish literary tradition but also extends to larger thinking on community. In addition, he suggests that community, as opposed to nation and region, is a productive route of analysis in modern literature. Combining close readings with theoretical elaborations, and including a broad national and historical overview, Baker offers a new perspective on both Brown's work and contemporary national literatures.
Synopsis
In this book Timothy C. Baker situates George Mackay Brown's work within a broad literary and philosophical context to articulate how his novels engage with the question of community.
Synopsis
George Mackay Brown and the Philosophy of Community offers a bold reinterpretation of the works of a seminal Scottish author and suggests new possibilities for the study of national literatures. Drawing on philosophy, sociology, politics, and religion as well as modern trends in literary theory, this book not only argues for Brown's continued importance, but also details a new model of the relationship between literature and community. Timothy C. Baker demonstrates that a community-based discussion of literature enriches any consideration of literary depictions of modern identity.
About the Author
Timothy Baker is Lecturer in Scottish Literature at the University of Aberdeen.