chapter seven
Postmodernist f(r) ictions
This chapter introduces and elucidates the concept of postmodernism,
showing how contemporary fictional strategies relate to a broader context
of contemporary thinking and culture. We will build on the fictional
strategies we learnt in Chapter 5, but in ways which question the norms
of narrative structure. We will also address aspects of fiction, such as
character, which were not fully addressed in Chapter 5.
The chapter explores the fruitful frictions which postmodern fiction
creates. There is friction, for example, between sustaining narrative
momentum and breaking it up, between projecting character and rethink-
ing it in less realist ways. Such frictions are also cultural: postmodernist
fiction sometimes explores versions of history which are in conflict with
official accounts or constructs new worlds which exist in a state of tension
with our own.
A sense of postmodernist writing as friction is not new and was concep-
tualised in the volume Frictions: An Anthology of Fiction by Women (Gibbs &
Tilson 1983) which was very innovative for its time. However, here we re-
introduce the idea of frictions as a writing strategy. This chapter invites you
to explore these f(r)ictions for yourself both at a formal and thematic level.
exercises
- Create a postmodern fiction which engages with plot but sub-
verts it.You can create a whole text or simply an outline.