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Cuevas, Susanne
Babylon and Golden City

Representations of London in Black and Asian British Novels Since the 1990s.

This study explores the significance of London in novels by Black and Asian British authors of the second and third generation, which were published between 1990 and 2003. It thus brings together two traditionally separate fields within literary studies: Black British literature and research on representations of the city, specifically London, in literature. Based on a cultural studies understanding of identity as constituted by multiple positioning factors, the study focuses on the importance of the urban environment - both as a material and symbolic site - to the protagonists' identity construction. Furthermore, it analyses how Black and Asian British writers draw on Anglo-Saxon imaginary traditions of representing the metropolis as well as imagery derived from non-European cultures. The study provides a sociological overview on London's ethnic minority groups using recent statistical data and draws on a broad spectrum of texts from various genres as well as different topographical perspectives. - The study consists of the chapters: 1. Introduction; 2. The Literary Tradition; 3. Black and South Asian Groups in London Today - A Sociological Profile; 4. Theories on Urban Space and Ethnic Minorities; 5. Novels of Development; 6. Postmodern Experiments (Diran Adebayo "My Once Upon a Time"; Bernardine Evaristo "The Emperor's Babe"; Zadie Smith "White Teeth"); 7. The Return of Realism? (Monica Ali "Brick Lane"; Courttia Newland "The Scholar. A West Side Story"); 8. Conclusion; 9. Bibliography. 245 Seiten, broschiert (Anglistische Forschungen; Vol. 384/Universitätsverlag Winter 2008)