Synopses & Reviews
There is an emphasis on de-constructing, de-centring, de-stabilizing, and especially de-mythologizing in the study that illustrates New World myth narrators questioning the past in the present and carrying out their original investigations of myth, place, and identity. Underlining the fact that political realities are encoded in the language and narrative of the works, Vautier argues that the reworkings of literary, religious, and historical myths and political ideologies in these novels are grounded in their shared situation of being in and of the New World.
Review
"A serious advance in research in the field. Vautier's argument is impeccably developed and her style is clear and engaging. She displays an excellent grasp of both the larger theoretical contexts and the details of textual craft in the books she considers. I found it most enjoyable and interesting to read." Diana Brydon, Department of English, University of Guelph
Synopsis
In this comparative study of six Canadian novels Marie Vautier examines reworkings of myth in the postcolonial context. While myths are frequently used in literature as transhistorical master narratives, she argues that these novels destabilize the traditional function of myth in their self-conscious reexamination of historical events from a postcolonial perspective. Through detailed readings of François Barcelo's La Tribu, George Bowering's Burning Water, Jacques Godbout's Les Têtes à Papineau, Joy Kogawa's Obasan, Jovette Marchessault's Comme une enfant de la terre, and Rudy Wiebe's The Scorched-Wood People, Vautier situates New World myth within the broader contexts of political history and of classical, biblical, and historical myths.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [297]-331) and index.
Table of Contents
Postmodern myth and post-European history : thematics and theory in the New World -- Making myths, playing God : the narrator in Jacques Godbout's Les Tetes áa Papineau and Rudy Wiebe's The Scorched-wood people -- Reshaping religions, challenging cosmogonies : Jovette Marchessault's Comme une enfant de la terre and Joy Kogawa's Obasan -- Magic realism and postcolonial challenges to history : George Bowering's Burning water and Franðcois Barcelo's La Tribu -- Imagining myth in the New World : George Bowering's Burning Water and Franðcois Barcelo's La Tribu.