Twentieth Century European Literature is an essential resource for students and teachers of English literature. The book contains 16 critical essays on 10 prominent authors of continental literature. This is a valuable reference book on surrealist, absurdist and magical realist texts. Readers who are new to European fiction and plays will find it easy to familiarize themselves with most of the philosophy and literary concepts associated with the major historical events such as the World Wars, the Holocaust and the rapid spread of communism. The essays in this book approach seminal texts of twentieth century from two basic perspectives: the Freudian and the Marxist. Each essay focuses on a single text and is followed by a select bibliography. For this reason, scholars will be able to appraise individual works from these essays.
Contents: Introduction. 1. Surrealism and symbolization in Strindberg. 2. Surrealism and absurdism in Franz Kafka. 3. Kafka and the common man. 4. Pirandello’s Thesis. 5. The six characters and the Taboo of virginity. 6. God in Albert Camus. 7. Albert Camus’s views on the role of the artist. 8. Existentialism and Bertolt Brecht. 9. Life of Galileo and totalitarian ideology. 10. Brecht’s mother courage. 11. Politics and the theatre (Brecht, Piscator and Weiss). 12. The twentieth century Drama summed-up in Marat/Sade. 13. Revolution and Madness in Marat/Sade. 14. The postmodern era of MS word. 15. Gunter grass: The Tin Drum. 16. Milan Kundera: The Art of the Novel.
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