A Ghost of a Fiction: Fury and the Poetics of Simulacra

A Ghost of a Fiction: Fury and the Poetics of Simulacra

This paper will illustrate the way in which a contemporary novel engages with the idea of the disappearance of the real. Its elaboration of a poetics of simulacra situates it within a Baudrillardean realm of simulation where all is narrative and postmodern man can only step from fiction to fiction....

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Auteur principal: Gonzalez, Madelena
Format: Article ou chapitre numérique
Langue:Anglais
Publié: Études britanniques contemporaines 2019
Accès en ligne:Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM
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spelling openedition-oai:revues.org:ebc_7183 https://doi.org/10.4000/ebc.7183 urn:doi:10.4000/ebc.7183 en https://journals.openedition.org/ebc/7183 2019-06-17T02:00:00Z info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess article info:eu-repo/semantics/article urn:handle:20.500.13089/fe9g https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ A Ghost of a Fiction: Fury and the Poetics of Simulacra Études britanniques contemporaines Presses universitaires de la Méditerranée info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/2271-5444 info:eu-repo/semantics/reference/issn/1168-4917 URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc Gonzalez, Madelena This paper will illustrate the way in which a contemporary novel engages with the idea of the disappearance of the real. Its elaboration of a poetics of simulacra situates it within a Baudrillardean realm of simulation where all is narrative and postmodern man can only step from fiction to fiction. The defining location of the tale is a world recognisable from television, cinema and the Internet, a cross between Sex and the City, Tomb Raider, Pulp Fiction and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a recuperation of an infinity of recycled narratives which have become our response to existence, replacing spontaneity. Even the serious political struggle which takes place at the climax of the novel can do nothing more than imitate a debased fictional narrative, turning revolution into yet another story which failed to give satisfaction to its audience, reminiscent of Baudrillard’s infamous ‘Gulf War’. The novel’s nostalgia, not so much for realism as for the real emotion expressed in its title, is a surgical strike against this universe of simulacra while also being complicit with it, as its post-realist aesthetics suggest. A ghost of a fiction, using words as the transparent symbols of a depleted reality, it exhibits the courageous hyperscepticism of a post-tragic condition. Cet article met en évidence les voies empruntées par un roman contemporain aux prises avec la disparition du réel. La poétique du simulacre mise en œuvre dans Fury situe le roman de Rushdie dans un univers baudrillardien de simulation où le récit règne en maître et où l’homme postmoderne est l’éternel prisonnier de la fiction. L’histoire se déroule dans un contexte que le lecteur identifie comme étant celui de la télévision, du cinéma et d’Internet; elle mélange les références à Sex and the City, Tomb Raider, Pulp Fiction et Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Il s’agit de récupérer un nombre infini de récits recyclés qui ont tendance à remplacer la spontanéité pour répondre à nos questions existentielles contemporaines. Même la lutte politique qui a lieu à la fin du roman ne peut qu’imiter la fiction et faire de la révolution un récit de plus qui n’a pas réussi à intéresser son public, à l’instar de la guerre du Golfe décriée par Baudrillard. Le roman prend ses distances avec le réalisme et exprime une nostalgie d’émotions fortes. Il opère une frappe chirurgicale contre un univers de simulacre avec lequel il a pourtant certaines affinités, comme le suggère son esthétique post-réaliste. Fury est l’ombre d’un roman et emploie les mots comme symboles transparents d’une réalité affaiblie, tout en faisant preuve d’un hyperscepticisme courageux et caractéristique de notre condition post-tragique.
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language Anglais
format Article ou chapitre numérique
building 0/Bibliothèque numérique/
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description This paper will illustrate the way in which a contemporary novel engages with the idea of the disappearance of the real. Its elaboration of a poetics of simulacra situates it within a Baudrillardean realm of simulation where all is narrative and postmodern man can only step from fiction to fiction. The defining location of the tale is a world recognisable from television, cinema and the Internet, a cross between Sex and the City, Tomb Raider, Pulp Fiction and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a recuperation of an infinity of recycled narratives which have become our response to existence, replacing spontaneity. Even the serious political struggle which takes place at the climax of the novel can do nothing more than imitate a debased fictional narrative, turning revolution into yet another story which failed to give satisfaction to its audience, reminiscent of Baudrillard’s infamous ‘Gulf War’. The novel’s nostalgia, not so much for realism as for the real emotion expressed in its title, is a surgical strike against this universe of simulacra while also being complicit with it, as its post-realist aesthetics suggest. A ghost of a fiction, using words as the transparent symbols of a depleted reality, it exhibits the courageous hyperscepticism of a post-tragic condition.
author Gonzalez, Madelena
spellingShingle Gonzalez, Madelena
A Ghost of a Fiction: Fury and the Poetics of Simulacra
author_facet Gonzalez, Madelena
author_sort Gonzalez, Madelena
title A Ghost of a Fiction: Fury and the Poetics of Simulacra
title_short A Ghost of a Fiction: Fury and the Poetics of Simulacra
title_full A Ghost of a Fiction: Fury and the Poetics of Simulacra
title_fullStr A Ghost of a Fiction: Fury and the Poetics of Simulacra
title_full_unstemmed A Ghost of a Fiction: Fury and the Poetics of Simulacra
title_sort ghost of a fiction: fury and the poetics of simulacra
publisher Études britanniques contemporaines
publishDate 2019
container_title URI:https://journals.openedition.org/ebc
url https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://doi.org/10.4000/ebc.7183
https://ezproxy.univ-orleans.fr/login?url=https://journals.openedition.org/ebc/7183
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