Family Fictions and World Making

This book offers a pioneering comparative analysis of family novels from Ireland and India, focusing on the narratives of women authors.

This monograph serves as the first comprehensive comparative study of family novels emerging from Ireland and India. Family Fictions and World Making delves into how these narratives reflect and shape cultural identities, particularly in the context of colonial and postcolonial experiences. Ireland, often viewed through a metropolitan British lens, and India, once celebrated as a model of decolonization, provide rich grounds for exploring the complexities of kinship and familial structures that transcend national borders.

The book examines the works of notable women authors such as Anne Enright, Elizabeth Bowen, Mahasweta Devi, Jennifer Johnston, Kiran Desai, and Molly Keane. These writers are not only representative of their respective eras but also challenge the traditional male-centric narratives of family. By foregrounding ideological kinship over biological ties, Family Fictions and World Making redefines the family unit as a site of diverse interests and cultural dialogues, particularly during the interwar years, the late-modern period, and the age of globalization.

Through its analysis, the book initiates a critical conversation about the evolution of family fiction within postcolonial literature. It highlights how these authors interrogate the genre's supposed privacy, revealing the broader socio-political concerns that underlie personal narratives. Ultimately, Family Fictions and World Making invites readers to reconsider the intersections of family, identity, and cultural production in a globalized world.