Post colonial fiction/literature

brianthebard

This is something that popped up with regards postmodernism in English, but I haven't learned much about it. Who fits into this genre? What is characteristic of it? Whats it like?
I've started reading Coetze's Slow Man, I think he's part of this genre but I'm not totally sure. Opinions anyone?

impr0v

I dunno. If it means literature written by authors from former colonies I can see how it includes Coetze, but it would seem to be a pretty large and varied grouping of different works and themes if that were the case.

I presume it means works that refer to the effects of independence, or works written after independence, and putting forward a particular opinion of how things were during colonial times, by authors who lived through it.. or something!

From what I remember of Slow Man, I don't think it would fit the bill, but I could be wrong. Perhaps something like 'Heart of Darkness', inspired by Conrad's own observations in post-colonial Congo, would be so categorised.

brianthebard

Conrad's Heart of Darkness is set in colonial Congo, about 60 years before independance. Apart from that you have the general idea, works that are set in countries who are now finding themselves having to define their culture in opposition to what has gone before, ie colonialism. Often they can be influenced by earlier culture. Slow man is set in Australia, and deals with the lives of Rayment, a french immigrant, and his interaction with the Jokics, a croatian family. It is definitely post colonial, dealing with issues such as Australia's supposed lack of history, as well as the cultural melting pot that Australia has become.

Pyjamarama

If you want some theory on the subject Salman Rushdie 'Imaginary Homelands' is very interesting. All of his novels would be considered post-colonial as they deal with post-colonial India. You can also pick up a Post-colonial reader or there would be a section in most Literary Theory Readers, look for the likes of Siad and Spivak

Post-colonial literature can be set in the post-colonial country or follow immigrants experience in their new homeland so it's a very broad category.

Salman Rushdie - East West is a collection of short stories which would be a quick introduction to the overall themes of his novels and to a lot of the themes dealt with in post-colonial literature.

Others that come to mind:
The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi (hilarious fantastic book)
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
There's another good one set in New Zealand, i think it's called the Bone Collector but can't think of the authors name.

Karlusss

Salman Rushdie definitely, there are none of his books that don't allude to partition or historical figures or independence in India in some way.

Are there obvious Irish post-colonialist novelists? Not nationalist, but specifically dealing with independence and things related. I can think of a few plays, but for some reason not books.

AJG

There's another good one set in New Zealand, i think it's called the Bone Collector but can't think of the authors name.

Its The Bone People by Keri Hulme. A good read.

brianthebard

Yeah I've read Shame by Rushdie, thats the sort of thing I'm thinking about.

stovelid

Herman Melville - Typee
Alan Duff - Once were warriors
Albert Wendt - Sons for the Return Home


I loved Buddha of Suburbuia. Black Album is good too.