The Hero in Contemporary American Fiction / American Literature Readings in the 21st Century (PDF)

Stephanie S. Halldorson is an independent scholar. 

"Aiming to change how we think about the cult of the individual - that is, about what the hero, the anti-hero, and the heroic can mean in the United States of our day - Halldorson is not afraid to tackle big topics (and they don t come much bigger than this). This intellectually daring study combines astute historical contextualizing and canny theoretical re-conceptualizing with brilliant close readings of texts by two major American novelists." - Linda Hutcheon, University of Toronto

"This book presentsa serious, substantive discussiononBellow and DeLillo and the subject of heroes. Halldorsonoffersperhaps the strongest and most provocative reading of DeLillo s Mao II that I ve encountered. Her assertions that the hero is always and only built upon a fictional narrative, and that the hero depends on the existence of the non-hero, even though there s no place for the non-hero in America, areintriguing andconvincingly supported." - Curtis Yehnert, Western Oregon University

"Halldorson s original and innovative construction of a heroics of reading is a valuable contribution to the dramatic revival of the ethical turn in literary and theoretical inquiry. Halldorson is also a masterful reader of community and identity in DeLillo and Bellow, one who is richly attuned to their complex narrative investments." - Thomas Carmichael, University of Western Ontario