Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
This timely and much needed critical study is devoted to the writing of Witold Gombrowicz, one of the most important Slavic writers in the twentieth century. Written from a variety of theoretical perspectives, ranging from poststructuralism to queer theory and postcolonialism, this book examines the complexity of Gombrowicz s texts in the context of the current reappraisals of the mixed legacies of modernism. By situating Gombrowicz s work in relation to Eastern and Western European as well as Argentinean cultures, Gombrowicz s Grimaces rethinks the significance of literary modernism in light of philosophical modernity, queer sexuality, subaltern identities, and limits of national culture. Starting with the considerations of Gombrowicz s aesthetics and his philosophical interests, this book addresses the ways in which the experience of cultural displacement Gombrowicz s exile in Argentina and France informs his literary career, and ends with a discussion of the cultural implications of Gombrowicz s philosophy of form for his critique of nationalism and the explorations of queer eroticism."