Collapsing Structures of Life and Death in Mike McCormack’s Solar Bones
In the present essay I argue that that Mike McCormack’s acclaimed latest novel Solar Bones (Brit. 2016, USA 2017) thematises two impulses: on the one hand, the narrator, Marcus Conway, is seeking an order and structural coherence to his world, an order that throughout assumes a distinctly religious...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Universidad de Zaragoza
2019-11-01
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Series: | Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies |
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Online Access: | https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/misc/article/view/6296 |
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author | Wit Pietrzak |
author_facet | Wit Pietrzak |
author_sort | Wit Pietrzak |
collection | DOAJ |
description |
In the present essay I argue that that Mike McCormack’s acclaimed latest novel Solar Bones (Brit. 2016, USA 2017) thematises two impulses: on the one hand, the narrator, Marcus Conway, is seeking an order and structural coherence to his world, an order that throughout assumes a distinctly religious tint; on the other hand, the novel features various images of collapse of structures, ranging from the economic system all the way to actual buildings, all of which thwart his efforts. It is those twin movements, towards order and chaos, that reveal an association with Heidegger’s idea that only by becoming aware of death as one’s sole personal mode of life, does one begin to apprehend the essential structure of life, even if the glimpse of that structure is only ever available in its constant deferral.
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first_indexed | 2024-04-10T09:38:37Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-5da67c821b3f4fb2863c54afc044e191 |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1137-6368 2386-4834 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-10T09:38:37Z |
publishDate | 2019-11-01 |
publisher | Universidad de Zaragoza |
record_format | Article |
series | Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies |
spelling | doaj.art-5da67c821b3f4fb2863c54afc044e1912023-02-17T16:28:48ZengUniversidad de ZaragozaMiscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies1137-63682386-48342019-11-016010.26754/ojs_misc/mj.20196296Collapsing Structures of Life and Death in Mike McCormack’s Solar BonesWit Pietrzak In the present essay I argue that that Mike McCormack’s acclaimed latest novel Solar Bones (Brit. 2016, USA 2017) thematises two impulses: on the one hand, the narrator, Marcus Conway, is seeking an order and structural coherence to his world, an order that throughout assumes a distinctly religious tint; on the other hand, the novel features various images of collapse of structures, ranging from the economic system all the way to actual buildings, all of which thwart his efforts. It is those twin movements, towards order and chaos, that reveal an association with Heidegger’s idea that only by becoming aware of death as one’s sole personal mode of life, does one begin to apprehend the essential structure of life, even if the glimpse of that structure is only ever available in its constant deferral. https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/misc/article/view/6296Mike McCormackSolar BonesIrish Contemporary FictionMartin Heideggercollapsing structures |
spellingShingle | Wit Pietrzak Collapsing Structures of Life and Death in Mike McCormack’s Solar Bones Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies Mike McCormack Solar Bones Irish Contemporary Fiction Martin Heidegger collapsing structures |
title | Collapsing Structures of Life and Death in Mike McCormack’s Solar Bones |
title_full | Collapsing Structures of Life and Death in Mike McCormack’s Solar Bones |
title_fullStr | Collapsing Structures of Life and Death in Mike McCormack’s Solar Bones |
title_full_unstemmed | Collapsing Structures of Life and Death in Mike McCormack’s Solar Bones |
title_short | Collapsing Structures of Life and Death in Mike McCormack’s Solar Bones |
title_sort | collapsing structures of life and death in mike mccormack s solar bones |
topic | Mike McCormack Solar Bones Irish Contemporary Fiction Martin Heidegger collapsing structures |
url | https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/misc/article/view/6296 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT witpietrzak collapsingstructuresoflifeanddeathinmikemccormackssolarbones |