Narratives of difference : critical (re-)assessment of contemporary Troubles novels

Abstract

This dissertation examines the concept of difference as portrayed in contemporary Troubles novels and explores how it affects the sense of belonging to the contested space of Northern Ireland. It analyses a cross-section of post-1994 ceasefire and post-1998 Agreement novels by the Northern Irish writers who came of age during the Troubles - Inheritance (Keith Baker, 1997), The Second Prison (Ronan Bennett, 1991), No Bones (Anna Burns, 2001), Woundlicker (Jason Johnson, 2004), The Rainbow Singer (Simon Kerr, 2002), Grace Notes (Bernard MacLaverty, 1997), One by One in the Darkness (Deirdre Madden, 1996), Sacrifice of Fools (Ian McDonald, 1996), The Ultras (Eoin McNamee, 2004), The Wrong Man (Danny Morrison, 1997), The Twelve (Stuart Neville, 2009), Involved (Kate O'Riordan, 1995), and Glenn Patterson's extensive Troubles canon.