David Herman has assembled a superb and vitally relevant cross-section of evidence from the expanding frontier where literature and theory contemplate the evocative counsel of our animal messengers. - Jonathan Lethem, Roy Edward Disney Professor in Creative Writing, Ponoma College, USA
In this rich and theoretically robust volume of essays, animals emerge as constitutive not only of human identity but of modern and postmodern fiction. Putting into practice a creaturely approach to literary studies, Creatural Fictions illustrates the myriad ways in which the shared bodily being of humans and animals is foundational for all rhetorical, political, and ethical acts. Moving freely between the canon and the periphery and attending to questions of form, genre, sexuality, and gender, the fluctuations of species are brought to bear on every aspect of literary endeavor. Here is an expansive exploration of critical practice after the 'animal turn' that will reshape the disciplines we so narcissistically call the 'humanities.' - Anat Pick, Senior Lecturer of Film Studies, Queen Mary, University of London, UK
This cutting-edge anthology brings together an impressive group of established and emerging scholars to showcase the central themes and issues that motivate literary animal studies. Discussing authors from Kafka to Coetzee and Martel to Mda, the authors provide insightful readings of essential texts that will be of interest to students and scholars alike. This volume will help readers appreciate the numerous ways in which literature serves both to inform and challenge contemporary work in critical animal studies. - Matthew Calarco, Associate Professor of Philosophy, California State University, Fullerton, USA
In this fascinating and compelling collection of transdisciplinary approaches to animals in modern and contemporary literature, the writers move from the 'creaturely' to the 'creatural.' Rather than emphasizing creaturely differences, the contributors highlight cross-creatural continuities between humans and nonhuman animals. Engaging with a wide range of human-animal relationships, the essays in Creatural Fictions hone in on a variety of literature-from the historical romance to postcolonial fiction-from around the world. Examining texts by writers hailing from the Global North and South, East and West, the essays in Creatural Fictions reconsider the very notion of the animal. - Jeanne Dubino, Professor of English, Appalachian State University, USA and coeditor of Representing the Modern Animal in Literature
