Narratives of trauma and loss in Caryl Phillips's Crossing the River and A Distant Shore

Bentley, NP

Abstract

This article argues that trauma is at the heart of Caryl Phillips's fiction with particular reference to two novels, Crossing the River (1993) and A Distant Shore (2003). It assess a number of writiers associated with trauma theory and takes issue with the prevailing idea that trauma studies do not sit well with postcolonial literary practice. Close readings of the two novels reveal how their focus on trauma allows Phillips to articulate narratives that reveal post and neo-colonial contexts.

Citation

Bentley, N. (2018). Narratives of trauma and loss in Caryl Phillips's Crossing the River and A Distant Shore. Commonwealth Essays and Studies, 40, 21--31. https://doi.org/10.4000/ces.4448

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: 2018-03
• Deposit Date: May 31, 2023
• Journal: Commonwealth: essays and studies
• Electronic ISSN: 0395-6989
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 40
• Pages: 21--31
• Edition: Autumn 2017
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/ces.4448
• Publisher URL: https://journals.openedition.org/ces/4448