The possibility of literary theory has been repeatedly put at risk by the apparently simple question 'What is a literary text?' Throughout the twentieth century the epistemological status of literature, the problem of language's claim to true representation, has challenged our received notions of ontology and being. Thus the question 'What is literature?' has frequently sponsored highly philosophical interrogations of our inherited ways of comprehending the external world. In Singularities, Thomas Pepper addresses the relationship between textuality, value, and critical difficulty. In a rich sequence of nuanced close readings of especially demanding philosophical and literary texts, Singularities addresses key moments in Adorno, Blanchot, de Man, Derrida, Foucault, Althusser, Levinas and Celan. By offering a critique of the very process of thematic reading, this book addresses the whole question of truth and being, language and value, in a series of readings of sustained critical power.

Throughout the twentieth century, the epistemological status of literature, the problem of language's claim to true representation, has challenged our received notions of ontology and being itself. In Singularities, Thomas Pepper addresses the relationship among text, philosopical value and critical difficulty through a rich sequence of nuanced close readings of especially demanding texts. Singularities addresses key moments in the work of seminal twentieth-century theorists, and by offering a critique of the very process of thematic reading, questions the whole direction of contemporary theory through a series of readings of sustained critical power.

When a mafia princess falls for a two-bit hood an unhappy don plays some pretty rough games in order to separate the two lovers. Sean O'Donnell is a man who keeps his word, especially to a lady. His good-for-nothing old man left his mother flat. When she gets ill, Sean makes her a promise, he will never be like his father; if he makes a promise he will keep it, no matter what. When local mob boss Mario Torretta's daughter Nicole falls for him, the Don is not pleased, and makes it known. However, Nicole is in love and begs Sean to stick by her. Once Sean makes the promise, no amount of pressure from the Don will weaken his resolve. Sean will endure and persevere to keep his promise to Nicole, and to his mother.

Too tough to be aborted, Super Fetus fights back! He's a fetus growing in the womb of a whiny white trash whore of a mother. His problem: she wants to have him aborted. But what this bitch doesn't know is that she isn't pregnant with some mild-mannered developing human form. Heck no. This is Super Fetus. He has an attitude and he is deter mined to be born, whether she likes it or not. Doing push-ups in the womb day and night, until he becomes amazingly buff, this little fetus is prepared to fight off the onslaught of vacuums, tongs, coat hangers, and scalpels. Once that sonofabitch doctor comes for him... he'll be ready. A horrific and humorous romp with strange characters, stranger sex scenes, and one kick-ass musclebound fetus.