David Brauner discusses works by critically-acclaimed and internationally influential authors such as Don DeLillo, Philip Roth, Carol Shields, Cormac McCarthy, Annie Proulx, and Paul Auster, situating them within a range of literary-historical contexts. He follows trends in recent American fiction and analyzes developments in critical thought over the past twenty years.
Each os his chapters offers detailed readings of three novels by these authors in relation to postmodernism and realism; gender and sexuality; race, ethnicity and multiculturalism; and narrative and genre, demonstrating the ways in which texts such as "White Noise," "American Psycho," "The Stone Diaries," and "Cold Mountain" can be read in the light of current critical approaches. Brauner's conclusion suggests future paths for navigating the current complexity of contemporary American fiction.