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The work of James Joyce, especially
Ulysses, can be fully understood only when the colonial and postcolonial context of Joyce's Ireland is taken into account. Reading Joyce as a postcolonial writer produces valuable new insights into his work, though comparisons of Joyce's work with that of African and Caribbean postcolonial writers provides reminders that Joyce, regardless of his postcolonial status, remains a fundamentally European writer whose perspective differs substantially from that of most other postcolonial writers. In addition to exploring Joyce's writings in light of recent developments in postcolonial theory, Booker employs a Marxist critical approach to assess the political implications of Joyce's work and examines the influence of Cold War anticommunism on previous readings of Joyce in the West.
Focusing on Karl Radek's criticisms of Joyce, the volume begins with a detailed discussion of the rejection of Joyce's writings by many leftist critics. It then examines those aspects of
Ulysses that can be taken as a diagnosis and criticism of the social ills brought to Ireland by British capitalism. The following chapters explore Joyce's language as part of his critique of capitalism, the role of history in his works, the failure of Joyce to represent the lower classes of colonial Dublin, and the political implications of Joyce's writings.
List of contents
Introduction
How Joyce Became a Postcolonial Writer
Joyce among the Marxists: Or, The Cultural Politics of Joyce Criticism
"Intercourse Had Been Incomplete": Commodification and the Reification of Social Relations in Ulysses
"Bronze by Gold, Steelyringing": Fragmentation, the "Sirens" Prologue, and the Politics of Style in Ulysses
"Khaki Hamlets Don't Hesitate": Ulysses, the Boer War, and British Imperialism
"History Is to Blame": Ulysses, Lukács, and the Historical Novel
"That Can Be Explained": Bloom, Science, and the Postcolonial Bourgeoisie
"Love's Old Sweet Song": The Assault on Bourgeois Sentimentality in Ulysses
Conclusion: Joyce, Postcolonial Criticism, and Legacy of the Cold War
Bibliography
Index
About the author
M. KEITH BOOKER is Professor of English at the University of Arkansas. He is the author of numerous articles and books on modern literature and literary theory, including
Dystopian Literature: A Theory and Research Guide (1994),
The Dystopian Impulse in Modern Literature: Fiction as Social Criticism (1994),
Bakhtin, Stalin, and Modern Russian Fiction: Carnival, Dialogism, and History (1995),
The Modern British Novel of the Left: A Research Guide (1998),
The Modern American Novel of the Left: A Research Guide (1999), and
Film and the American Left: A Research Guide (1999), all available from Greenwood Press.
