Apocalyptic territories setting and revelation in contemporary American fiction Hellén, Anna creator author. text bibliography Criticism, interpretation, etc. nyu 2020 monographic eng print 142 pages ; 24 cm "Research on the relationship between the apocalyptic tradition and the literary imagination has typically espoused a temporal approach which in one way or another revolves around the order of events that precedes the end of history and the ensuing establishment of a new world. This study, by contrast, explores the spatial dimensions of apocalypse, more precisely the way in which the settings of the Book of Revelation are taken up by contemporary American writers and related to more general but also more contested concerns of territorial integrity and national identity. Influenced by Lefebvre's theories, the study understands territory not simply as the container of certain structures and practices but also as the result of them, just as bird song is not framed by but rather constructive of territorial borders. It is the equivalent of such 'songs' that this book seeks to listen in on, i.e. the apocalyptic narratives that have been passed on through the centuries to define and sustain territory on a local, regional, and national level, and the way in which seven novels by Rick Moody, Toni Morrison, Jesmyn Ward, Cormac McCarthy, and Michael Chabon respond to them"-- Introduction -- 1. A Spatial Approach to Apocalypse -- 2. "That Theory of Paradise": Rick Moody's Suburban Apocalypse -- 3. "A City Better than Perfect": Harlem as the New Jerusalem in Toni Morrison's Jazz -- 4. McCarthy's Sourceless Apocalypse in Blood Meridian and The Road -- 5. Out of the Pit: Southern Apocalypse and the Female Body in Ward's Salvage the Bones -- 6. The Story is Telling Us: Apocalyptic Geopolitics in Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union -- Conclusion. Anna Hellén. Includes bibliographical references (pages 132-138) and index. n-us--- American fiction 20th century History and criticism American fiction 21st century History and criticism Apocalypse in literature Space in literature Boundaries in literature Setting (Literature) Identity (Psychology) in literature American fiction Apocalypse in literature Boundaries in literature Identity (Psychology) in literature Setting (Literature) Space in literature 1900-2099 fast PS374.A65 H45 2020 813/.509 Routledge studies in contemporary literature 9780367896577 0367896575 9780367896584 2019051490 pda,print DLC 191217 20250318214755.9 in00004169410 eng