Addiction, Representation and the Experimental Novel, 1985–2015

Since the nineteenth century, the Western realistic novel has persistently represented the addict as a morally toxic force bent on destroying the institutions, practices, and ideologies that historically have connoted reason, order, civilization. Addiction, Representation undertakes an investigation into an alternative literary tradition that unsettles this limited portrayal of the addict. The book analyzes the practices and politics of reading the experimental addiction novel, and outlines both a practice and an ethics of reading that advocates for a more compassionate response to both diegetic and extra-diegetic addicts—an approach that, at its core, is focused on understanding.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; 1. Bearing Witness: Leaving Las Vegas (1990); 2. Betraying: Dope (2006); 3. Gaslighting: The Girl on the Train (2015); 4. Transgressing: Less Than Zero (1985); 5. Disorienting: The Orange Eats Creeps (2010); Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.

About the Author :
Heath A. Diehl is Teaching Professor in the Department of English and Honors College at Bowling Green State University. He is the author of Wasted: Performing Addiction in America.

Review :
This thoroughly-researched book approaches the study of literature about addiction from a highly original perspective that combines affect theory and classic reader-response approaches in the analysis of readerly sympathy and empathy. Diehl demonstrates an encyclopedic knowledge of literature about, and theories of, addiction. While his close readings make this work invaluable to anyone teaching about addiction in the English literature classroom, his numerous examples also make it an essential source for any researcher interested in literary portrayals of addiction. — Brandon P. Bisbey, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Spanish, Coordinator of Latina/o and Latin American Studies, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago. The book does an outstanding job of analyzing the complex reality of addiction in contemporary novels. Moreover, this work explores the limits and characteristics of these creations, seeking to understand form and content, as well as the relevance of complex physical and emotional themes in our society without polarizing and actually caring about the addict. — Jorge Gonzalez del Pozo, Professor of Spanish, University of Michigan-Dearborn “Addiction, Representation and the Experimental Novel, 1985-–2015 challenges what we think we know – not only about narratives of addiction, but about experimental fiction itself. Diehl proves that traditional methods, cannily applied, yield bracingly fresh insights. Prepare to take a second look at the popular novels that shape our culture.” —Susan Zieger, Professor of English & Director of Graduate Admissions, University of California, Riverside