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The Novel Today (Spring)

Discuss major new work by today’s top writers, including emerging novelists, award-winners, and established favorites, all of whom are central to today's cultural conversation. We will investigate a variety of inventive narrative strategies, explore the psychology of numerous fascinating characters, and examine important topics within a context of changing times, changing lives and a changing world. We will explore; vulnerable people and a parrot in pandemic New York; betrayal, revolution and Somerset Maugham in 1920s Penang; a far-right reactionary government in the south of Ireland; a mysterious man, a mysterious forest, and a mysterious nightfall; a historical novel set in the aftermath of the civil war centered on a strange man called Night Watch; the return of the complex and enigmatic Eilis Lacey,  now in Long Island but with her heart still In Ireland; a brilliant autobiographical three generation saga about a “pied noir” family left without a homeland after Algerian independence; two sisters and a big bear on San Juan Island immigrant Indian teenage sisters, the game of squash, and the pressures and perils of winning; the  recovering alcoholic son of an Iranian immigrant and his chaotic, tragicomic search for meaning.
Readings: Tan Twan Eng, The House of Doors ; Kaveh Akbar, Martyr!;  Paul Lynch, Prophet Song ; Jon Fosse, A Shining ; Claire Messud, A Strange Eventful History ; Colm Toibin, Long Island ; Sigrid Nunez,The Vulnerables; Julia Phillips, Bear ; Chetna Maroo, Western Lane ; Jayne Anne Phillips, The Night Watch .
Students should read The Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez for the first class. 

 

More details

You'll Walk Away with

  • Increased cultural literacy, including intercultural knowledge and competence
  • An understanding of current contemporary fiction, including its themes, meanings, and historical and cultural contexts

Ideal for

  • The curious and creative
  • Professionals who use critical thinking

3 sections

  • Spring 2025

    • Section

      001
    • Semester

      Spring 2025
    • Date

      Feb 19 - Apr 23
    • Day

      Wednesday
    • Time

      1:00PM-2:40PM
      • In-Person
    • Format

      In-Person
      • In-Person
    • Sessions

      10
    • Location

      Midtown Center
    • Section

      002
    • Semester

      Spring 2025
    • Date

      Feb 20 - Apr 24
    • Day

      Thursday
    • Time

      10:00AM-11:40AM
      • Online
    • Format

      Online
      • Online
    • Sessions

      10
    • Location

      Instructor Led
    • Section

      003
    • Semester

      Spring 2025
    • Date

      Feb 20 - Apr 24
    • Day

      Thursday
    • Time

      1:00PM-2:40PM
      • Online
    • Format

      Online
      • Online
    • Sessions

      10
    • Location

      Instructor Led