Companion to the Contemporary Irish Novel

Companion to the Contemporary Irish Novel traces the cultural shift that began in the 1980s and continues through new ideological structures, new ways of telling stories, and a radically transformed sense of the very meaning of Irishness. This period of relentless disruption of Ireland's social, demographic, religious, and economic frames also offered immense imaginative possibilities to its writers.

In direct contrast to the longer history of Irish writing’s persistent fascination with stasis, insularity, tradition, and paralysis, this volume addresses one of the most tumultuous periods of social transformation in Irish history. Defined more by change and structural transformation as the guiding principles, this is a period of shifting values, a reimagining of cultural frames, and a rewriting of the primary narratives of what it meant to be Irish.

Bringing together scholars from across the field, Companion to the Contemporary Irish Novel explores the anxieties expressed and examined within Irish contemporary novels to offer a complete contextualized reading that traces vital changes in Irish government, economy, social values, and national identity.