David Mitchell's Post-Secular World: Buddhism, Belief and the Urgency of Compassion

by Rose Harris-Birtill

Overview

Since the publication of Ghostwritten (1999), David Mitchell has rapidly established himself as one of the most inventive and important British novelists of the 21st century. In this landmark study, Rose Harris-Birtill reveals the extent to which Mitchell has created an interconnected fictional world across the full run of his writing. Covering Mitchell's complete fictions, from bestselling novels such as Cloud Atlas (2004), The Bone Clocks (2014) and number9dream (2001), to his short stories and his libretti for the operas Sunken Garden and Wake, this book examines how Buddhist influences inform the ethical worldview that permeates his writing. Using a comparative theoretical model drawn from the Tibetan mandala to map Mitchell's fictional world, Harris-Birtill positions Mitchell as central to a new generation of post-secular writers who re-examine the vital role of belief in galvanizing action amidst contemporary ecological, political and humanitarian crises.

David Mitchell's Post-Secular World features two substantial new interviews with the author, a chronology of his fictions and a selected bibliography of important critical writings on his work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350078611
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	01/10/2019
Series:	New Horizons in Contemporary Writing
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Rose Harris-Birtill is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of St Andrews, UK.
Rose Harris-Birtill is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of St. Andrews, UK.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgements
David Mitchell's Fictional World: A Chronology
Introducing David Mitchell's Fictional World
Chapter 1: Enter the 'World-Machine': Navigating David Mitchell's Narrative Islands
Chapter 2: 'Right yourself as best you may': Voicing Tragedy in David Mitchell's Libretti
Chapter 3: 'Looking down time's telescope at myself': Reincarnation and Global Futures in David Mitchell's Fictional Worlds
Chapter 4: 'What a sick zoo': Escaping the Panopticon in David Mitchell's Macronovel
Chapter 5: 'Little things that speak of the big things': Towards a Mandalic Literature
Appendix A: David Mitchell's UK Book Sales
Appendix B: Tibetan Buddhist Mandala Sand Painting
Appendix C: Enlarged Mandala
Appendix D: Sand Mandala Construction
Appendix E: Wake Act 2 Photograph
Appendix F: Wheel of Life Mandala
Appendix G: An Interview with David Mitchell, 2015
Appendix H: An Interview with David Mitchell, 2016
David Mitchell: Selected Critical Reading
Works Cited
Index

Editorial Reviews

Highly original in its approach and informed by a deep encyclopedic knowledge of Mitchell's entire oeuvre - including his short stories, libretti, non-fiction and interviews, this is a true eye-opener of a study which skillfully captures the author's design of a cosmopolitan world-system intent upon galvanising compassionate ethical action in his readers.
Professor Berthold Schoene, Professor of English and Faculty Head of Research and Knowledge Exchange for Arts and Humanities, Manchester Metropolitan University

Mandalic thinking lies at the heart of this ground-breaking literary criticism which marks the start of an inter-connected multi-faceted rendering of life's urgent needs: compassion and ethical action. The zeitgeist of a post-secular age - faced with humanitarian and ecological crises - demands nothing less.
Rosita Dellios, Associate Professor of International Relations Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University, Australia

Rose Harris-Birtill persuasively argues that Mitchell's work--including libretti, short stories, and novels--maps a post-secular metaphysics and expresses a compassionate global ethics. In its comprehensive sweep and incisive arguments, this book sets a standard for Mitchell criticism to date and to come.
Paul A. Harris, Professor of English, Loyola Marymount University, USA

From the Publisher