Ethics and Aesthetics in Ali Smith's Fiction (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Literature)

Prieto-Arranz, José I.

Routledge（2025/07発売）

• 製本 Hardcover:ハードカバー版／ページ数 272 p.
• 言語 ENG
• 商品コード 9781041045687
• DDC分類 823.914

Full Description

This study offers a fresh perspective on Ali Smith's work, analysing her fiction through a truly interdisciplinary lens. José I. Prieto-Arranz explores Smith's engagement with contemporary issues such as digital violence, disinformation, pornography, nationalism, climate change, discrimination, and social fracture. Simultaneously, this book examines Smith's unique stylistic choices, including her use of magical realism, intertextuality, and intermediality, to reveal the intricate connection between the ethical and aesthetic dimensions of her novels. Through close readings of Smith's novels, from Like to Companion Piece, enriched with insights from her prolific short fiction, the author demonstrates how Smith constructs a "text continuum," revealing recurrent themes and stylistic choices that underline her firm belief in the transformative power of fiction and, by extension, art. This book will appeal to scholars of contemporary literature, art theory, political science, sociology and cultural studies, and anyone interested in literature and social commentary.

Chapter 9 and 10 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

Contents

Acknowledgements

1. Introduction

2. Becoming acquainted with Ali Smith

3. Smith's dramatis personae

4. A portrayal of the age of distraction

5. "Land of my soul": national and environmental concerns

6. Magical interventions

7. Intertextual encounters with art

8. Ekphrastic moments

9. Other artistic encounters

10. The transformative power of art

11. By way of conclusion. Solidarity through dialogue

Index