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9781501372230

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Employing the critical prism of four exemplary writers, this well-researched, engaging and perceptive book analyses the long shadow cast by the Western, tracing its multiple meanings, varied perspectives and consistently surprising reinventions. Reading Lost in the West both reminds us of the genre's tenacious survival and its ageless significance. * Neil Campbell, Emeritus Professor of American Studies, University of Derby, UK * This astutely focused study launches readers into a blazing metaphysical search for the essence of the American West, a place at once geographic and mythical, a 'portable signifier' as Asquith puts it, both imaginary and brutally real. Asquith excels especially in drawing thoughtful and unexpected connections between books as seemingly dissimilar as That Old Ace in the Hole and Blood Meridian, or picking out delightfully surprising threads running between Emerson's transparent eyeball, the restrained prose of John Williams and the exuberantly gothic postmodernism of Cormac McCarthy. If we are lost in the New West, this book is a suggestion to continue wandering. * Sara Spurgeon, Professor of Literatures of the American Southwest, Texas Tech University, USA * A beautifully written and timely book, Lost in the New West is an impressive guide through the literature of a vibrant and ever-changing American landscape. Mark Asquith offers a fresh approach to understanding the work of recent western authors who seek to move beyond damaging myths of place and nation. In this way, the book is essential reading for anyone wishing to connect more honestly and deeply with a region facing ongoing challenges and profound transformations. * Susan Kollin, Professor of English, Montana State University, USA *

Employing the critical prism of four exemplary writers, this well-researched, engaging and perceptive book analyses the long shadow cast by the Western, tracing its multiple meanings, varied perspectives and consistently surprising reinventions. Reading Lost in the West both reminds us of the genre’s tenacious survival and its ageless significance. * Neil Campbell, Emeritus Professor of American Studies, University of Derby, UK * This astutely focused study launches readers into a blazing metaphysical search for the essence of the American West, a place at once geographic and mythical, a 'portable signifier' as Asquith puts it, both imaginary and brutally real. Asquith excels especially in drawing thoughtful and unexpected connections between books as seemingly dissimilar as That Old Ace in the Hole and Blood Meridian, or picking out delightfully surprising threads running between Emerson’s transparent eyeball, the restrained prose of John Williams and the exuberantly gothic postmodernism of Cormac McCarthy. If we are lost in the New West, this book is a suggestion to continue wandering. * Sara Spurgeon, Professor of Literatures of the American Southwest, Texas Tech University, USA * A beautifully written and timely book, Lost in the New West is an impressive guide through the literature of a vibrant and ever-changing American landscape. Mark Asquith offers a fresh approach to understanding the work of recent western authors who seek to move beyond damaging myths of place and nation. In this way, the book is essential reading for anyone wishing to connect more honestly and deeply with a region facing ongoing challenges and profound transformations. * Susan Kollin, Professor of English, Montana State University, USA *

Employing the critical prism of four exemplary writers, this well-researched, engaging and perceptive book analyses the long shadow cast by the Western, tracing its multiple meanings, varied perspectives and consistently surprising reinventions. Reading Lost in the West both reminds us of the genre's tenacious survival and its ageless significance. --Neil Campbell, Emeritus Professor of American Studies, University of Derby, UK This astutely focused study launches readers into a blazing metaphysical search for the essence of the American West, a place at once geographic and mythical, a 'portable signifier' as Asquith puts it, both imaginary and brutally real. Asquith excels especially in drawing thoughtful and unexpected connections between books as seemingly dissimilar as That Old Ace in the Hole and Blood Meridian, or picking out delightfully surprising threads running between Emerson's transparent eyeball, the restrained prose of John Williams and the exuberantly gothic postmodernism of Cormac McCarthy. If we are lost in the New West, this book is a suggestion to continue wandering. --Sara Spurgeon, Professor of Literatures of the American Southwest, Texas Tech University, USA A beautifully written and timely book, Lost in the New West is an impressive guide through the literature of a vibrant and ever-changing American landscape. Mark Asquith offers a fresh approach to understanding the work of recent western authors who seek to move beyond damaging myths of place and nation. In this way, the book is essential reading for anyone wishing to connect more honestly and deeply with a region facing ongoing challenges and profound transformations. --Susan Kollin, Professor of English, Montana State University, USA

Author Information

Mark Asquith is the author of Reading the Novels of John Williams: A Flaw of Light (2017), The Lost Frontier: Reading Annie Proulx’s Wyoming Stories (Bloomsbury, 2014) and Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain and Postcards: A Reader's Guide (Bloomsbury, 2009). He holds a PhD from UCL, University of London, UK.

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