Series Preface
Chronology
Introduction
Some Omissions
Colonial Spaces and Colonial Ideologies
General Categories and Specific Cases
Possible Unities and the Use of Theory
About this Book
Chapter One: Finding a Voice
Macaulay's Minute
Trading with Tradition: Derek Walcott
Where Language is Concealed: Eavan Boland
The Empire Writes Back
Very Indian English: Nissim Ezekiel
The Language of the African Novel: Ngugi and Achebe
The Palm-oil with which Words are Eaten: Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Rotten English: Ken Saro-Wiwa, Sozaboy
Mongrels and Silence: Keri Hulme, The Bone People
Summary
Chapter Two: The Need to Belong
From Terra Nullius to the Mabo Decision
In the Interior: Patrick White, Voss
Immemorial and Recent: Les Murray
The Time of the Nation and the Space of the People
Claiming the City: Sam Selvon, The Lonely Londoners
Hating the Place you Love: James Berry, Windrush Songs
New Beginnings and Responsibilities: J.M Coetzee's Disgrace
Summary
Chapter Three: Coming of Age, Coming into Difference
National Allegory
A Shadow of the Nation: Roddy Doyle, A Star Called Henry
In Two Minorities: Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy
Natural and Ethical Behaviour: Shani Mootoo, Cereus Blooms at Night
Trapped: Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions
Inheritance and Accidents: Zadie Smith, White Teeth
Summary
Chapter Four: Communities, Values, Transgressions
Learning to Listen: Nadine Gordimer, Burger's Daughter
Avoiding Historical Pitfalls: Thomas King, Truth and Bright Water
Motes in the Eye of History: Diaspora Space
How Newness Enters the World: Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses
The Rushdie Affair and the Umma
Faith with and without Agency: Leila Aboulela, Minaret
Nostalgia and Resistance: Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Summary
Chapter Five: War Zones
Frantz Fanon and the Cleansing Power of Violence
Ghosts from the Future: V. S. Naipaul, A Bend in the River
True Nationalism: Tahmima Anam, A Golden Age
A Ban on Wreaths: Agha Shahid Ali, The Country Without a Post Office
States of Exception, Biopolitics and Necropolitics
A Duty to Stay Alive: Chris Abani, 'Buffalo Women'
Giving Your Life for the Truth: Michael Ondaatje, Anil's Ghost
Summary
Chapter Six: Challenging Histories
A Scab on the Wounds of History: Anita Desai, Clear Light of Day
Squaring History's Books: Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things
Can the Subaltern Speak?
Made Noble in the Fire: Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang
The Sort of Secrets you Could Use: Sally Morgan, My Place
Beyond the Mesmeric Power of Tradition: The Black Atlantic
Not Going Home: Caryl Phillips, The Atlantic Sound
A Terror of Symbols: Amitav Ghosh, In an Antique Land
Summary
Conclusion
Student Resources
Guide to Further Reading
Writing about Postcolonial Literature
Index
