Myth and Subversion in the Contemporary Novel

This bilingual work identifies and explains the subversive rewriting of ancient, medieval and modern myths in contemporary novels. The book opens with two theoretical essays on the subject of subversive tendencies and myth reinvention in the contemporary novel. From there, it moves on to the analysis of essential texts. Firstly, classical myths in works by authors such as AndrÃ(c) Gide, Thomas Pynchon, Julio Cortàzar, Italo Calvino or Christa Wolf (for instance, Theseus, Oedipus or Medea) are discussed. Then, myths of biblical origin â " such as the Flood or the Golem â " are revisited in the work of Giorgio Bassani, Julian Barnes and Cynthia Ozick. A further section is concerned with the place of modern myths (Faust, the ghost, Opheliaâ ]) in the fiction of GÃ1/4nter Grass, Paul Auster, or Clara JanÃ(c)s. The contributors have also delved into the relationship between myth and art â " especially in the discourse of contemporary advertising, painting and cinema â " and mythâ (TM)s intercultural dimensions: hybridity in the Latin American novels of Augusto Roa Bastos and Carlos Fuentes, and in the Hindu-themed novels of Bharati Mukherjee. This volume emerges from the careful selection of 37 essays out of over 200 which were put forward by outstanding scholars from 25 different countries for the Madrid International Conference on Myth and Subversion (March 2011). Este volumen bilingÃ1/4e identifica y explica la pràctica subversiva aplicada a los mitos antiguos, medievales y modernos en la novela contemporànea. Abren el libro dos estudios teÃ3ricos sobre la tendencia subversiva y la reinvenciÃ3n de mitos en la actualidad. Prosigue el anàlisis de diversos textos de primera importancia. En primer lugar se revisan los mitos clàsicos en autores como AndrÃ(c) Gide, Thomas Pynchon, Julio Cortàzar, Italo Calvino o Christa Wolf (p. ej., Teseo, Edipo, Medea). En segundo lugar, la reescritura de los mitos bÃ-blicos segðn Giorgio Bassani, Julian Barnes o Cynthia Ozick (p. ej., el diluvio o el Golem). En tercer lugar, mitos modernos en la ficciÃ3n de GÃ1/4nter Grass, Paul Auster o Clara JanÃ(c)s (p. ej., Fausto, el fantasma, Ofelia). El volumen presta igualmente atenciÃ3n a las relaciones entre mito y arte (su recurrencia en la publicidad, la pintura y el cine contemporàneos) y a la vertiente intercultural de los mitos: el mestizaje en la novela latinoamericana de Augusto Roa Bastos y Carlos Fuentes, o en la de temàtica hindð de Bharati Mukherjee. La compilaciÃ3n resulta de una exquisita selecciÃ3n de 37 textos entre los màs de 200 propuestos para el Congreso Internacional Mito y SubversiÃ3n (Madrid, marzo de 2011) por investigadores de prestigio procedentes de 25 paÃ-ses.