A transnational and transcultural perspective: transcending the "Englishness" of English literature

Abstract

This paper aims to address the question of how some of the fiction that is being written in England today is more than ever indebted to a transnational and transcultural perspective that reflects the current multicultural map of English identity(ies). I argue that the panorama of English Literature today is very markedly a global one, which destabilizes fixed notions of English identity and accepted notions of national literatures. The essay focuses on three contemporary novels, Hanif Kureishi's The Buddha of Suburbia, Zadie Smith's White Teeth and Monica Ali's Brick Lane, in order to discuss the issues proposed.