Lively enough, in contradistinction to its subject, this
workmanlike volume of literary history traces the underexamined
phenomenon of boredom. Boredom, Spacks (Gossip, 1985; English/Univ.
of Virginia) informs us, is a social construction of recent
vintage. The figure of "the bore" first appeared in the mid-18th
century; the idea of boredom emerged, like the novel, in the wake
of early modernity's development of the concept of leisure. Boredom
and popular writing have intimate links: Writers seek above all to
be interesting (i.e., not boring), and readers follow their
interests in reading, evading boredom. Not coincidentally, boredom
has long fascinated popular writers as a subject. Spacks builds on
these observations in developing her history of boredom in English
literature. Reconsidering narration as a strategy for reclaiming
life from boredom, she discusses how a wide variety of 18th-century
fiction and correspondence treats that state of mind. Her
investigation reveals that boredom often masks more pointed
discomforts, even serving as a subtle form of aggression against
resented environments. A look at how Jane Austen disciplines her
title character in Emma provides a case study in what Spacks calls
"the normalization of boredom." As sociology has charted the spread
of boredom through society, writers have continued to explore the
implications of its pervasiveness and to mount resistances to it.
In her final chapters, Spacks considers boredom in the context of
works by such authors as Henry James, Gertrude Stein, Donald
Barthelme, and Anita Brookner. However, the interest/boredom
opposition, always fairly crude, seems especially inadequate for
describing modern fiction, with its self-consciously alienating
effects. Her discussion also lacks a real reckoning with the
entertainment marketplace's appeals to (and cultivation of) boredom
in the consumers of its stimulations. Nevertheless, Spacks opens up
promising ground for further investigations. Perhaps a new academic
subdiscipline might be in order: Anyone for Boredom Studies?
(Kirkus Reviews)
This book offers a witty explanation of why boredom both haunts and
motivates the literary imagination. Moving from Samuel Johnson to
Donald Barthelme, from Jane Austen to Anita Brookner, Spacks shows
us at last how we arrived in a postmodern world where boredom is
the all-encompassing name we give our discontent. Her book,
anything but boring, gives us new insight into the cultural
usefulness--and deep interest--of boredom as a state of mind.
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