Minimalism

:This article is about minimalism in art and design. For the computer term see Computing minimalism and for the linguistic meaning of "Minimalism" see Transformational grammar.

Literary minimalism

Literary minimalism is characterized by an economy with words. Minimalist authors eschew adverbs and prefer allowing context to dictate meaning. Readers are expected to take an active role in the creation of a story, to "choose sides" based on oblique hints and innuendo, rather than reacting to directions from the author. The characters in minimalist stories and novels tend to be unexceptional; they're average people who sell pool supplies or coach second tier athletic teams, not famous detectives or the fabulously wealthy. Generally, the short stories are "slice of life" stories.

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The root of American literary minimalism is the work of Ernest Hemingway, and one of the best examples of the style is his "Hills Like White Elephants." Because Hemingway never describes the tone a character takes when he/she speaks, the reader is forced to interpret the tone based on the response. Also, although the landscape is integral to the story symbolically, this fact is never made explicit the way it might have been in earlier literature (e.g. Wuthering Heights).

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In Hemingway's wake, some 1940s-era crime fiction of writers such as James M. Cain and Jim Thompson adopted a stripped-down, matter-of-fact prose style to considerable effect.

Related Topics:
James M. Cain - Jim Thompson

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Literary minimalism arose in response to the meta-fiction trend of the 1960s and early 1970s (John Barth, Robert

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Coover, and William H. Gass) and assumes that readers know that they're being manipulated and that they want to participate in the process.

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Minimalist authors include the following: Raymond Carver, Chuck Palahniuk, Amy Hempel, Bobbie Ann Mason, Tobias Wolff, Grace Paley, Sandra Cisneros, Mary Robison, and Frederick Barthelme.

Related Topics:
Raymond Carver - Chuck Palahniuk - Amy Hempel - Tobias Wolff - Grace Paley - Sandra Cisneros

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Also, the Irish author Samuel Beckett is known for writing minimalistic plays and short stories.

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