Jennifer Egan's Storyworlds: An Exploration along Organic Lines

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on four novels by contemporary American writer Jennifer Egan, namely Invisible Circus (1995), Look at Me (2001), A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010), and Manhattan Beach (2017). The main purpose of this study is to map Egan’s fictional territory, which presents itself as multifaceted and diverse in terms of tones, genres, and narrative forms. The point of departure for this analysis was a series of interviews given by Egan throughout her career; listening to the author herself discussing her approach to writing and her method of composing proved to be crucial for the individuation of consistencies and stylistic or thematic through-lines in her literary production. Each novel will be examined separately in distinct chapters, to allow for a thorough exploration of Egan’s creative process in four different contexts. However, this thesis will also attempt to propose a general – and, optimistically, not oversimplified– reading of Egan’s fictional universe, through what might be called the unifying principle of “organic soundness”.