Author Profile

Dr. Prajna Paramita has done her higher studies in Classical Literature. She has served as Associate Professor in Maldives National University. Currently she is teaching English in GTE College in Delhi. Her expertise includes Literature, Political Studies, and Women Issues. She has written seven books for civil servants and other competitive examinations.

About The Book

Commonwealth literature refers to the literature which was originated in the former colonies of England only whereas Postcolonial literature focuses on the literature from all the third world countries whose voices were gagged by the Eurocentric approach, it not only includes colonies of Britain but also of France, Portugal and other colonial powers. Commonwealth literature doesn't include England in its list, so it should be noted that this term is very discriminatory as it considers England to be too superior to be part of it. Trends in Commonwealth Literature is perhaps the first comprehensive survey of literature of this multicultural grouping of peoples and societies. Besides chapters on individual writers such as Nadine Gardimar, Wilson Harris, R.K. Narayan, Patrick White, Salman Rusdie Henry James, Edith Wharton, James Dickey, Toni Morrison, Chinua Achebe, Wok Soyinka, W.H. Auden, Graham Green, T.S. Eliot, E.F. Forster, Toru Dutt, Sarojini Naidu, Premchand, V.S. Naipaul, Mulk Raj Anand, Ved Mehta, Octavio Paz etc. there are chapters on literary development in the countries comprising the Commonwealth. This work makes a significant contribution towards interpreting the Commonwealth, through its vast store house of literature.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. Introduction
2. Colonial Conflict in Things Fall Apart
3. Compromise with Conscience in No Longer at Ease
4. Religious Conflict in Arrow of God
5. A Man of the People as a Political Satire
6. A Grain of Wheat: A Novel of Colonial Encounter
7. The Conflict between Christianity and Gikuyu Culture in the River Between
8. Petals of Blood: An Epic of Anti-Colonialism
9. God of Small Things: Arundhati Roy’s Depressing Attitude
10. The English and Literary Quest in the Commonwealth of Nations
11. Characteristics of Canadian Literature
12. The Literature of Australia
13. The Literature of New Zealand
14. Avant-garde in Girish Karnad’s Writings
15. Anita Desai’s Projection of Inner Conflict
16. Shashi Deshpande’s Woman Sensitivity
17. Themes in Joyce Cary
18. The Trauma of Partition in Azadi
19. Postcolonial Imaging and Architectonics in Wole Soyinka’s Season of Anomy
20. The Colonial Context of Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient
21. The Politics of Fluidity in a Bend in the River
22. V.S. Naipaul’s Quest for a Voice of his Own: The Enigma of Arrival and Half a Life
23. The Novels of Migration: Naipaul, Rushdie, Selvadurai and Mistry
24. The Shadow Lines: A Newer Historicism
25. Potent Remedies: Themes and Techniques in Shashi Deshpande’s Small Remedies
26. Failed Householders: Renouncement and Distributive Strategies in Fasting, Feasting
Bibliography
Index