Interweaving psychoanalysis, gender and cultural studies, and postmodern theories of geopolitics, this study of the monster in contemporary narratives demonstrates that the monster (and monstrosity) is largely a cultural and ideological production. Figures such as the serial-killer, the monstrous child, deformed bodies and spatially-influenced monstrosity will be considered through analyses of texts by Peter Ackroyd, Bret Easton Ellis, and Angela Carter (among others). The conclusion proposes that language itself becomes monstrous when it attempts, and fails, to articulate the monster.

Autorentext

ANDREW NG is Lecturer in Contemporary Fiction, Film Studies and Theories of Authorship and Writing at Monash University, Malaysia.

Zusammenfassung
This study seeks to situate the monster in contemporary narratives. Deploying psychoanalysis, cultural theories, and recent studies in gender and sexuality, it discusses various forms of monstrous representations starting with lived space and concluding with language as a textual space for the creation/coercion of monstrosity. It argues that, unlike traditional monster narratives (notably the Gothic) which see the monster as an alien 'other' that has to be contemplated and finally expelled, contemporary monster narratives situate this 'other' with(in) us, so forcing us to reconsider our positions as subjectivities, and the socio-ideological space we inhabit. Popular fiction by Peter Ackroyd, J. G. Ballard, Doris Lessing, Iain Banks, Bret Easton Ellis, Joyce Carol Oates, Angela Carter, Patrick McGrath and Janice Galloway are discussed, showcasing an array of monstrous manifestations including various forms of monstrous spatiality (including language), the deformed body, the serial killer and the enigmatic child.

Inhalt

Acknowledgements Introduction: Dimensions of Monstrosity Monstrous Space Geopolitics of the Serial Killer Monstrous Progeny Monstrous Bodies Conclusion: The Language of Monstrosity Notes Bibliography Index