Metamodernism in contemporary literature (On Dave Eggers' novel “The CIRCLE”)

Abstract

Currently, the literary process is witnessing the emergence of a new trend — post-postmodernism, developing along several lines. The article offers a review of theoretical works of Russian and foreign authors, devoted to the study of post-postmodernism, its main charac­teristics, and terminology. On the basis of the novel "The Circle" (2013), written by the American writer Dave Eggers, which has not yet become the subject of study in Russian liter­ary criticism,the authors explore the main features of metamodernism as one of the directions of post-postmodernism. The methodology of the study is based on the principles of interpretive analysis and comparative historical observation. The analysis of several contemporary Eng­lish-language novels suggests that post-postmodernism attempts to reconstruct what has been deconstructed in postmodernism while retaining some of its attitudes. A detailed examination of Eggers' novel shows that it exhibits both postmodernist (a complex combination of genre forms) and metamodernist characteristics. A closer look at Eggers' text shows that it exhibits both postmodernist (a complex combination of genre forms) and metamodernist features (re­jection of the postulate of ' the death of the author' and explication of the authorial position, post irony, neorealism, an appeal to ‘new sincerity’). The results of this study may be used in further research in this field, as well as in the development of teaching material for philologi­cal disciplines at universities.

Keywords

• cultural paradigm
• post-postmodernism
• dave eggers
• “the circle”
• metamodernism trends
• interpretive analysis