Contemporary Fictions of Multiculturalism: Diversity and the Millennial London

Contemporary Fictions of Multiculturalism analyses novels of the late 20th and early 21st centuries that explore ethnic and cultural diversity in London. It contributes to key, ongoing debates in literary and cultural studies and, in particular, to debates over the status and relevance of multiculturalism today.

Michael Perfect is an Assistant Professor of English Literature at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. His main research and teaching interests are in twentieth- and twenty-first century literature and culture. He has published journal articles and book chapters on contemporary British literature and postcolonial studies and has taught at the University of Cambridge - where he obtained his PhD in 2011 - as well as in London.

Introduction: Backgrounds: Facts and Fictions of Multicultural London 1. Multiculturalism and the Work of Hanif Kureishi 2. 'Fold the paper and pass it on': Andrea Levy's London Fiction 3. Multicultural London in Zadie Smith's White Teeth : a Celebration of Unpredictability and Uncertainty? 4. Permanence and Transience: Monica Ali's Brick Lane (2003) and In The Kitchen (2009) 5. Mis-marketing Multiculturalism? Gautam Malkani's Londonstani (2006) 6. London as a Safe Haven? Asylum, Immigration and Missing Fingers in Chris Cleave's The Other Hand (2008) and Brian Chikwava's Harare North (2009) 7. London as a 'Brutal', 'Hutious' City: Stephen Kelman's Pigeon English (2011) 8. Coda: The Prophet's Graveyard Notes Bibliography Index