The Demise of Rural Life in Graham Swift’s Wish You Were Here
This article argues that Graham Swift’s recent novel Wish You Were Here, which depicts the erosion of rural life in contemporary England, may be treated as a post-rural novel; it both overtly alludes to the tradition of rural fiction and the pastoral convention in literature as well as suggests tha...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Pardubice
2012-12-01
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| Series: | American and British Studies Annual |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://absa.upce.cz/index.php/absa/article/view/2209 |
| _version_ | 1797832585676587008 |
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| author | Bożena Kucała |
| author_facet | Bożena Kucała |
| author_sort | Bożena Kucała |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
This article argues that Graham Swift’s recent novel Wish You Were Here, which depicts the erosion of rural life in contemporary England, may be treated as a post-rural novel; it both overtly alludes to the tradition of rural fiction and the pastoral convention in literature as well as suggests that the lifestyle that sustained this type of literature is currently disintegrating. Although focused on the limited experience of a particular family, the novel forges connections between a series of recent personal disasters and national and international events whose impact may be felt even in rural Devon. The narrative is overshadowed by the protagonist’s traumatic memories, and above all by his current mission to bury his brother, a soldier killed in Iraq. The burial that ends the story is a bitterly ironic return to the family farm, which, however, will never again serve the function for which it was once built.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:11:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-af0575f7fb584fa3a33d033bade40a72 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1803-6058 2788-2233 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T14:11:15Z |
| publishDate | 2012-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Pardubice |
| record_format | Article |
| series | American and British Studies Annual |
| spelling | doaj.art-af0575f7fb584fa3a33d033bade40a722023-05-06T14:00:42ZengUniversity of PardubiceAmerican and British Studies Annual1803-60582788-22332012-12-015The Demise of Rural Life in Graham Swift’s Wish You Were HereBożena Kucała0Jagiellonian University This article argues that Graham Swift’s recent novel Wish You Were Here, which depicts the erosion of rural life in contemporary England, may be treated as a post-rural novel; it both overtly alludes to the tradition of rural fiction and the pastoral convention in literature as well as suggests that the lifestyle that sustained this type of literature is currently disintegrating. Although focused on the limited experience of a particular family, the novel forges connections between a series of recent personal disasters and national and international events whose impact may be felt even in rural Devon. The narrative is overshadowed by the protagonist’s traumatic memories, and above all by his current mission to bury his brother, a soldier killed in Iraq. The burial that ends the story is a bitterly ironic return to the family farm, which, however, will never again serve the function for which it was once built. https://absa.upce.cz/index.php/absa/article/view/2209Graham SwiftWish You Were Hererural fictionpastoral traditionretrospection |
| spellingShingle | Bożena Kucała The Demise of Rural Life in Graham Swift’s Wish You Were Here American and British Studies Annual Graham Swift Wish You Were Here rural fiction pastoral tradition retrospection |
| title | The Demise of Rural Life in Graham Swift’s Wish You Were Here |
| title_full | The Demise of Rural Life in Graham Swift’s Wish You Were Here |
| title_fullStr | The Demise of Rural Life in Graham Swift’s Wish You Were Here |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Demise of Rural Life in Graham Swift’s Wish You Were Here |
| title_short | The Demise of Rural Life in Graham Swift’s Wish You Were Here |
| title_sort | demise of rural life in graham swift s wish you were here |
| topic | Graham Swift Wish You Were Here rural fiction pastoral tradition retrospection |
| url | https://absa.upce.cz/index.php/absa/article/view/2209 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bozenakucała thedemiseofrurallifeingrahamswiftswishyouwerehere AT bozenakucała demiseofrurallifeingrahamswiftswishyouwerehere |